@ 3bf0c63f:aefa459d

Método científico

o método científico não pode ser aplicado senão numa meia dúzia de casos, e no entanto ei-nos aqui, pensando nele para tudo.

"formule hipóteses e teste-as independentemente", "obtenha uma quantidade de dados estatisticamente significante", teste, colete dados, mensure.

não é que de repente todo mundo resolveu calcular desvios-padrão, mas sim que é comum, para as pessoas mais cultas, nível Freakonomics, acharem que têm que testar e coletar dados, e nunca jamais confiar na sua "intuição" ou, pior, num raciocínio que pode parecer certo, mas na verdade é enormemente enganador.

sim, é verdade que raciocínios com explicações aparentemente sensatas nos são apresentados todos os dias -- para um exemplo fácil é só imaginar um comentarista de jornal, ou até uma matéria inocente de jornal, aliás, melhor pensar num comentarista da GloboNews --, e sim, é verdade que a maioria dessas explicações é falsa.

o que está errado é achar que só o que vale é testar hipóteses. você não pode testar a explicação aparentemente sensata que o taxista te fornece sobre a crise brasileira, deve então anotá-la para testar depois? mantê-la para sempre no cabedal das teorias ainda por testar?

e a explicação das redinhas que economizam água quando instaladas na torneira? essa dá pra testar, então você vai comprar um relógio de água e deixar a torneira ligada lá 5 horas com a redinha, depois 5 horas sem a redinha? obviamente não vai funcionar se você abrir o mesmo tanto, você vai precisar de um critério melhor: a satisfação da pessoa que está lavando as mãos com o resultado final versus a quantidade de água gasta. daí você precisaria de muitas pessoas, mas satisfação é uma coisa imensurável, nem adianta tentar fazer entrevistas antes e depois com as pessoas. o certo então, é o quê? procurar um estudo científico publicado numa revista de qualidade (porque tem aquelas revistas que aceitam estudos gerados por computador, então é melhor tomar cuidado) que fala sobre redinhas? como saber se a redinha é a mesma que você comprou? e agora que você já comprou, o resultado do experimento importa? (claro: pode ser que a redinha faça gastar mais água, você nunca saberá até que faça o experimento).

por que não, ao invés de condenar todos os raciocínios como enganadores e mandar que as pessoas façam experimentos científicos, ensinar a fazer raciocínios certos?

@ 3bf0c63f:aefa459d

Scala is such a great language

Scala is amazing. The type system has the perfect balance between flexibility and powerfulness. match statements are great. You can write imperative code that looks very nice and expressive (and I haven't tried writing purely functional things yet). Everything is easy to write and cheap and neovim integration works great.

But Java is not great. And the fact that Scala is a JVM language doesn't help because over the years people have written stuff that depends on Java libraries -- and these Java libraries are not as safe as the Scala libraries, they contain reflection, slowness, runtime errors, all kinds of horrors.

Scala is also very tightly associated with Akka, the actor framework, and Akka is a giant collection of anti-patterns. Untyped stuff, reflection, dependency on JVM, basically a lot of javisms. I just arrived and I don't know anything about the Scala history or ecosystem or community, but I have the impression that Akka has prevent more adoption of Scala from decent people that aren't Java programmers.

But luckily there is a solution -- or two solutions: ScalaJS is a great thing that exists. It transpiles Scala code into JavaScript and it runs on NodeJS or in a browser!

Scala Native is a much better deal, though, it compiles to LLVM and then to binary code and you can have single binaries that run directly without a JVM -- not that the single JARs are that bad though, they are great and everybody has Java so I'll take that anytime over C libraries or NPM-distributed software, but direct executables even better. Scala Native just needs a little more love and some libraries and it will be the greatest thing in a couple of years.

@ 3bf0c63f:aefa459d

Liquidificador

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

@ 3bf0c63f:aefa459d

Truthcoin as a spacechain

To be clear, the term "spacechain" here refers only to the general concept of blindly merge-mined (BMM) chains without a native money-token, not including the "spacecoins".

The basic idea is that for Truthcoin/Hivemind to work we need

1. Balances of Votecoin tokens, i.e. a way to keep track of who owns how much of the oracle corporation;
2. Bitcoin tokens to be used for buying and selling prediction market shares, i.e. money to gamble;
3. A blockchain, i.e. some timestamping service that emits blocks ordered with transactions and can keep track of internal state and change the state -- including the balances of the Votecoin tokens and of the Bitcoin tokens that are assigned to individual prediction markets according to predefined rules;

A spacechain, i.e. a blindly merge-mined chain, gives us 1 and 3. We can just write any logic for that and that should be very easy. It doesn't give us 2, and it also has the problem of how the spacechain users can pay the spacechain miners (which is why the spacecoins were envisioned in the first place, but we don't have spacecoins here).

But remember we have votecoins already. Votecoins (VTC) should represent a share in the oracle corporation, which means they entitle their holders to some revenue -- even though they also burden their holders with the duty to vote in event outcomes (at the risk of losing part of their own votecoin balance) --, and they can be exchanged, so we can assume they will have some value.

So we could in theory use these valuable tokens to pay the spacechain miners. That wouldn't be great because it pervert their original purpose and wouldn't solve the problem 2 from above -- unless we also used the votecoins to bet in which case they wouldn't be just another shitcoin in the planet with no network effect competing against Bitcoin and would just cause harm to humanity.

What we can do instead is to create a native mechanism for issuing virtual Bitcoin tokens (vBTC) in this chain, collaterized by votecoins, then we can use these vBTC to both gamble (solve problem 2) and pay miners (fix the hole in the spacechain BMM design).

For example, considering the VTC to be worth 0.001 BTC, any VTC holder could put 0.005 VTC and get 0.001 vBTC, then use to gamble or sell to others who want to gamble. The VTC holder still technically owns the VTC and can and must still participate in the oracle decisions. They just have to pay the BTC back before they can claim their VTC back if they want to send it elsewhere.

They stand to gain by selling vBTC if there is a premium for vBTC over BTC (i.e. people want to gamble) and then rebuying vBTC back once that premium goes away or reverts itself.

For this scheme to work the chain must know the exchange rate between VTC and BTC, which can be provided by the oracle corporation itself.

@ 3bf0c63f:aefa459d

Washer

A CLI tool for generating fulltext indexes and using them to query files later based on a library called whoosh^whoosh.

I made this to help me search my git-annex files, but never really used it.

• https://github.com/fiatjaf/washer

@ 3bf0c63f:aefa459d

A Lightning penalty transaction

It was a cold day and I remembered that this lightningd node I was running on my local desktop to work on poncho actually had mainnet channels in it. Two channels, both private, bought on https://lnbig.com/ a while ago when I was trying to conduct an anonymous griefing attack on big nodes of the network just to prove it was possible (the attempts proved unsuccessful after some hours and I gave up).

It is always painful to close channels because paying fees hurts me psychologically, and then it hurts even more to be left with a new small UTXO that will had to be spent to somewhere but that can barely pay for itself, but it also didn't make sense to just leave the channels there and risk forgetting them and losing them forever, so I had to do something.

One of the channels had 0 satoshis on my side, so that was easy. Mutually closed and I don't have to think anymore about it.

The other one had 10145 satoshis on my side -- out of a total of 100000 satoshis. Why can't I take my part all over over Lightning and leave the full channel UTXO to LNBIG? I wish I could do that, I don't want a small UTXO. I was not sure about it, but if the penalty reserve was 1% maybe I could take out abou 9000 satoshis and then close it with 1000 on my side? But then what would I do with this 1000 sat UTXO that would remain? Can't I donate it to miners or something?

I was in the middle of this thoughts stream when it came to me the idea of causing a penalty transaction to give those abundant 1000 sat to Mr. LNBIG as a donation for his excellent services to the network and the cause of Bitcoin, and for having supported the development of https://sbw.app/ and the hosted channels protocol.

Unfortunately lightningd doesn't have a command triggerpenaltytransaction or trytostealusingoldstate, so what I did was:

First I stopped lightningd then copied the database to elsewhere: cp ~/.lightningd/bitcoin/lightningd.sqlite3 ~/.lightning/bitcoin/lightningd.sqlite3.bak then I restarted lightningd and fighted against the way-too-aggressive MPP splitting algorithm the pay command uses to pay invoices, but finally managed to pull about 9000 satoshis to my Z Bot that lives on the terrible (but still infinitely better than Twitter DMs) "webk" flavor of the Telegram web application and which is linked to my against-bitcoin-ethos-country-censoring ZEBEDEE Wallet. The operation wasn't smooth but it didn't take more than 10 invoices and pay commands.

With the money out and safe elsewhere, I stopped the node again, moved the database back with a reckless mv ~/.lightning/bitcoin/lightningd.sqlite3.bak ~/.lightningd/bitcoin/lightningd.sqlite3 and restarted it, but to prevent my lightningd from being super naïve and telling LNBIG that it had an old state (I don't know if this would happen) which would cause LNBIG to close the channel in a boring way, I used the --offline flag which apparently causes the node to not do any external connections.

Finally I checked my balance using lightning-cli listfunds and there it was, again, the 10145 satoshis I had at the start! A fantastic money creation trick, comparable to the ones central banks execute daily.

I was ready to close the channel now, but the lightning-cli close command had an option for specifying how many seconds I would wait for a mutual close before proceeding to a unilateral close. There is no forceclose command like Éclair hasor anything like that. I was afraid that even if I gave LNBIG one second it would try to do boring things, so I paused to consider how could I just broadcast the commitment transaction manually, looked inside the SQLite database and the channels table with its millions of columns with cryptic names in the unbearable .schema output, imagined that lightningd maybe wouldn't know how to proceed to take the money from the to-local output if I managed to broadcast it manually (and in the unlikely event that LNBIG wouldn't broadcast the penalty transaction), so I decided to just accept the risk and call lightning-cli close 706327x1588x0 1

But it went well. The --offline flag apparently really works, as it just considered LNBIG to be offline and 1 second later I got the desired result.

My happiness was complete when I saw the commitment transaction with my output for 10145 satoshis published on the central database of Bitcoin, blockstream.info.

Then I went to eat something and it seems LNBIG wasn't offline or sleeping, he was certainly looking at all the logs from his 274 nodes in a big room full of monitors, very alert and eating an apple while drinking coffee, ready to take action, for when I came back, minutes later, I could see it, again on the single source of truth for the Bitcoin blockchain, the Blockstream explorer. I've refreshed the page and there it was, a small blue link right inside the little box that showed my to-local output, a notice saying it had been spent -- not by my lightningd since that would have to wait 9000 blocks, but by the same transaction that spent the other output, from which I could be very sure it was it, the glorious, mighty, unforgiving penalty transaction, splitting the earth, showing itself in all its power, and taking my 10145 satoshis to their rightful owner.

@ 3bf0c63f:aefa459d

Sol e Terra

A Terra não gira em torno do Sol. Tudo depende do ponto de referência e não existe um ponto de referência absoluto. Só é melhor dizer que a Terra gira em torno do Sol porque há outros planetas fazendo movimentos análogos e aí fica mais fácil para todo mundo entender os movimentos tomando o Sol como ponto de referência.

@ 3bf0c63f:aefa459d

Rede Relâmpago

Ao se referir à Lightning Network do O que é Bitcoin?, nós, brasileiros e portugueses, devemos usar o termo "Relâmpago" ou "Rede Relâmpago". "Relâmpago" é uma palavra bonita e apropriada, e fácil de pronunciar por todos os nossos compatriotas. Chega de anglicismos desnecessários.

Exemplo de uma conversa hipotética no Brasil usando esta nomenclatura:

– Posso pagar com Relâmpago?

– Opa, claro! Vou gerar um boleto aqui pra você.

Repare que é bem mais natural e fácil do que a outra alternativa:

– Posso pagar com láitenim?

– Leite ninho?

@ 3bf0c63f:aefa459d

sitio

A static site generator that works with imperative code instead of declarative templates and directory structures. It assumes nothing and can be used to transform anything into HTML pages.

It uses React so it can be used to generate single-page apps too if you want -- and normal sites that work like single-page apps.

It also provides helpers for reading Markdown files, like all static site generator does.

A long time after creating this and breaking it while trying to add too many features at once I realized Gatsby also had an imperative engine underlying the default declarative interface that could be used and it was pretty similar to sitio. That both made me happy to have arrived at the same results of such an acclaimed tool and sad for the same reason, as Gatsby is the worse static site generator ever created considering user experience.

• https://github.com/fiatjaf/sitio

@ 3bf0c63f:aefa459d

Per Bylund's insight

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

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

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

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

@ 3bf0c63f:aefa459d

As estrelas

As estrelas são buracos nas esferas celestiais, buracos através dos quais nos é permitido ver a brilhante luz dos céus.

(Rome, a série.)

@ 3bf0c63f:aefa459d

UBI calculations

The United States population (counting only people more than 25 years old) is 222098080 people, the United States GDP is 20807000000000 USD. The Federal government has received 5845968000000 in taxes in 2019.

The standard UBI plan (from Andrew Yang) is to give $1000 to each person every month, which means a total annual expenditure of 2665176960000 USD, or 12.81% of the GDP and 45.59% of all tax money received from the federal government.

Mandatory spending (which includes healthcare and social security) corresponds to $2.7 trillion, or 46.18% of annual receipts. Discretionary spending (which includes education and military stuff) corresponds to $1.3 trillion, or 22.23% of annual receipts.

Does it fit?

If you are capable of cutting more-or-less all spending in social security (17.10% of federal receipts), all military (11.56%), all education, transportation, housing, veterans benefits and most other things the federal government does (11.30%) and parts of Medicare and Medicaid (26.17%) then it will be possible to fit UBI.

Welcome to the leftist paradise, one in which the government budget has to be drastically cut in every possible (cruel?) way.

Data sources

• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Demographics_of_the_United_States#Structure
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Government_spending_in_the_United_States
• https://www.bea.gov/tools/
• https://www.pbs.org/newshour/politics/how-would-andrew-yang-give-americans-1000-per-month-with-this-tax

@ 3bf0c63f:aefa459d

Replacing the web with something saner

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

---

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

See also

• On the state of programs and browsers

@ 3bf0c63f:aefa459d

Soft-forks on Bitcoin

A traditional soft-fork activation plays out like this:

1. someone makes a proposal
2. if half-dozen respected Core developers like that, they implement it and talk about it
3. everybody loves the idea
4. they ship it in Bitcoin Core
5. miners turn it onA traditional soft-fork activation plays out like this:

A traditional soft-fork failure plays out like this:

1. someone makes a proposal
2. if half-dozen respected Core developers do not care much about the idea, they don't do anything
3. people fight on Twitter about the merits of the idea forever

A sidechain activation within BIP-300 plays out like this:

1. someone writes the sidechain software
2. if a bunch of people are interested in that, they start playing with it in test mode
3. if it is really good people launch a proposal to miners
4. miners vote yes or no

@ 3bf0c63f:aefa459d

Uma boa margem

• No primeiro semestre da faculdade de Economia nós, os alunos, fomos guiados por um livro imbecil chamado "Introdução à Economia". O livro listava lá trocentas coisas que economistas supostamente faziam como parte da sua natureza de economistas. Uma delas era, lembro-me desta frase, "economistas pensam na margem".
• De início eu não entendi onde era essa margem, mas a professora passou quase uma aula inteira explicando (isto é, lendo o capítulo) que "pensar na margem" era considerar que pequenas mudanças nas condições de qualquer coisa causariam mudanças em pequenos grupos de pessoas: as pessoas que estavam na margem da mudança.
• Por exemplo, se um limão custa 5 reais e 100.000 pessoas compram limão todo dia, se aumentamos o preço para 5,05 pode ser que, sei lá, só 99.873 continuem comprando. Faz sentido, não faz? Isto era tão óbvio para mim no primeiro período de faculdade que não imaginei que alguém precisasse explicar, por isso não percebi qual era a da margem.
• Até hoje, porém, vejo pessoas o tempo todo afirmarem categoricamente que o "cinco centavos não vão fazer diferença nenhuma, as pessoas vão continuar comprando o limão como sempre compraram" e invocando em defesa desta tese argumentos perfeitamente lógicos como "até parece que você ia deixar de comprar seu limão por causa de 5 centavos", "eu nem olho o preço das coisas no supermercado" e "as pessoas precisam do limão, então elas vão ter que comprar, não importa o preço".
• Muitas destas pessoas entenderão a explicação sobre a margem, mas na próxima oportunidade que tiverem falharão em perceber a analogia ou em se lembrarem da margem e novamente evocarão os seus chavões. Para outras pessoas, porém, o pensamento na margem faz parte do bom senso habitual.
• Tirando fora a inútil conclusão de que a maior parte das pessoas é burra, sobra-nos um problema.
• Discussão
  • Estaria o autor do livro, contra sua própria vontade, enunciando uma verdade acerca dos tipos de pessoas que povoam a sociedade, "os economistas", que são economistas desde o berço, e que "pensam na margem" por natureza, contra "o resto", os não-economistas, que não pensam na margem, não importa o que se faça?
  • Esta é uma solução bem mixuruca. Nem é uma solução, na verdade, além disto ela deixa escapar um outro problema: por que diabos um sujeito que não consegue entender o problema do limão se candidata a um diploma de economista?
    • Bom, talvez aqui a hipótese da burrice generalizada explique bem as coisas: aparentemente a burrice que há nas universidades, no valor dos diplomas, na natureza da escola e em sua relação com as universidades faça com que jovens sejam despejados em qualquer curso sem terem noção nenhuma do que eles mesmos esperam que se dê lá. Ei-lo.
  • Há algum outro mistério aqui? O bom senso (enquanto um conhecimento apreendido dos meus vizinhos de sociedade) me ensinou a pensar na margem, ou não? Onde eu aprendi isso? Por que eu penso assim e o meu vizinho não?
  • Imagino que Bernard Lonergan responderia dizendo que os economistas são pessoas que tiveram esse insight e as outras pessoas não. Para as que tiveram o insight ele aparece já como uma obviedade, para os que não tiveram ele não é nem percebido como possibilidade (do contrário ele se efetuaria automaticamente como insight).
    • Neste caso, o que explica que pessoas entendam o caso do limão, caso se lhas explique com calma, mas falhem em aplicá-lo, minutos depois, a laranjas?
    • Há casos de economistas famosos e premiados que não conseguem conceber, por exemplo, que o aumento do salário mínimo possa fazer com que menos pessoas contratem funcionários -- na margem. Estes mesmos economistas passariam facilmente no teste do limão. Paul Krugman é um exemplo clássico de pessoa definitivamente "economista" (pelo critério do limão), mas que falha na aplicação do mesmo princípio a situações em que ele tem interesse político.
    • Aqui caímos num outro problema totalmente diferente, mas talvez a dissonância cognitiva explique.
    • Falha na aplicação de analogias não é um defeito, segundo me parece. Afinal de contas cada nova aplicação de uma analogia ou de relação previamente conhecida é, em si, um novo insight. O insight pode não ocorrer facilmente em certas condições. Mas, nestes casos, imagino que com algum auxílio (alguém que te lembre da analogia correta a ser aplicada ali, fazendo com que você a teste por si mesmo) o insight ocorra.
  • Também posso considerar que eu estou errado e que é ilógico pensar que cinco centavos farão com que menos pessoas comprem o limão. Há centenas de estudos "empíricos" que mostram como "pensar na margem" é correto, mas estes estudos são todos inconclusivos, ou afetados por dissonância cognitiva por parte dos autores, economistas, que já começaram a fazer o estudo sabendo da conclusão. Tudo isto parece razoável. Tenho para mim, no entando, que não é nada razoável, mas um absurdo louco.

@ a95c6243:d345522c

Falls du beim Lesen des Titels dieses Newsletters unwillkürlich an positive Neuigkeiten aus dem globalen polit-medialen Irrenhaus oder gar aus dem wirtschaftlichen Umfeld gedacht hast, darf ich dich beglückwünschen. Diese Assoziation ist sehr löblich, denn sie weist dich als unverbesserlichen Optimisten aus. Leider muss ich dich diesbezüglich aber enttäuschen. Es geht hier um ein anderes Thema, allerdings sehr wohl ein positives, wie ich finde.

Heute ist ein ganz besonderer Tag: die Wintersonnenwende. Genau gesagt hat heute morgen um 10:20 Uhr Mitteleuropäischer Zeit (MEZ) auf der Nordhalbkugel unseres Planeten der astronomische Winter begonnen. Was daran so außergewöhnlich ist? Der kürzeste Tag des Jahres war gestern, seit heute werden die Tage bereits wieder länger! Wir werden also jetzt jeden Tag ein wenig mehr Licht haben.

Für mich ist dieses Ereignis immer wieder etwas kurios: Es beginnt der Winter, aber die Tage werden länger. Das erscheint mir zunächst wie ein Widerspruch, denn meine spontanen Assoziationen zum Winter sind doch eher Kälte und Dunkelheit, relativ zumindest. Umso erfreulicher ist der emotionale Effekt, wenn dann langsam die Erkenntnis durchsickert: Ab jetzt wird es schon wieder heller!

Natürlich ist es kalt im Winter, mancherorts mehr als anderswo. Vielleicht jedoch nicht mehr lange, wenn man den Klimahysterikern glauben wollte. Mindestens letztes Jahr hat Väterchen Frost allerdings gleich zu Beginn seiner Saison – und passenderweise während des globalen Überhitzungsgipfels in Dubai – nochmal richtig mit der Faust auf den Tisch gehauen. Schnee- und Eischaos sind ja eigentlich in der Agenda bereits nicht mehr vorgesehen. Deswegen war man in Deutschland vermutlich in vorauseilendem Gehorsam schon nicht mehr darauf vorbereitet und wurde glatt lahmgelegt.

Aber ich schweife ab. Die Aussicht auf nach und nach mehr Licht und damit auch Wärme stimmt mich froh. Den Zusammenhang zwischen beidem merkt man in Andalusien sehr deutlich. Hier, wo die Häuser im Winter arg auskühlen, geht man zum Aufwärmen raus auf die Straße oder auf den Balkon. Die Sonne hat auch im Winter eine erfreuliche Kraft. Und da ist jede Minute Gold wert.

Außerdem ist mir vor Jahren so richtig klar geworden, warum mir das südliche Klima so sehr gefällt. Das liegt nämlich nicht nur an der Sonne als solcher, oder der Wärme – das liegt vor allem am Licht. Ohne Licht keine Farben, das ist der ebenso simple wie gewaltige Unterschied zwischen einem deprimierenden matschgraubraunen Winter und einem fröhlichen bunten. Ein großes Stück Lebensqualität.

Mir gefällt aber auch die Symbolik dieses Tages: Licht aus der Dunkelheit, ein Wendepunkt, ein Neuanfang, neue Möglichkeiten, Übergang zu neuer Aktivität. In der winterlichen Stille keimt bereits neue Lebendigkeit. Und zwar in einem Zyklus, das wird immer wieder so geschehen. Ich nehme das gern als ein Stück Motivation, es macht mir Hoffnung und gibt mir Energie.

Übrigens ist parallel am heutigen Tag auf der südlichen Halbkugel Sommeranfang. Genau im entgegengesetzten Rhythmus, sich ergänzend, wie Yin und Yang. Das alles liegt an der Schrägstellung der Erdachse, die ist nämlich um 23,4º zur Umlaufbahn um die Sonne geneigt. Wir erinnern uns, gell?

Insofern bleibt eindeutig festzuhalten, dass “schräg sein” ein willkommener, wichtiger und positiver Wert ist. Mit anderen Worten: auch ungewöhnlich, eigenartig, untypisch, wunderlich, kauzig, … ja sogar irre, spinnert oder gar “quer” ist in Ordnung. Das schließt das Denken mit ein.

In diesem Sinne wünsche ich euch allen urige Weihnachtstage!

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Dieser Beitrag ist letztes Jahr in meiner Denkbar erschienen.

@ fd208ee8:0fd927c1

I just read this, and found it enlightening.

Jung... notes that intelligence can be seen as problem solving at an everyday level..., whereas creativity may represent problem solving for less common issues

Other studies have used metaphor creation as a creativity measure instead of divergent thinking and a spectrum of CHC components instead of just g and have found much higher relationships between creativity and intelligence than past studies

https://www.mdpi.com/2079-3200/3/3/59

I'm unusually intelligent (Who isn't?), but I'm much more creative, than intelligent, and I think that confuses people. The ability to apply intelligence, to solve completely novel problems, on the fly, is something IQ tests don't even claim to measure. They just claim a correlation.

Creativity requires taking wild, mental leaps out into nothingness; simply trusting that your brain will land you safely. And this is why I've been at the forefront of massive innovation, over and over, but never got rich off of it.

I'm a starving autist.

Zaps are the first time I've ever made money directly, for solving novel problems. Companies don't do this because there is a span of time between providing a solution and the solution being implemented, and the person building the implementation (or their boss) receives all the credit for the existence of the solution. At best, you can hope to get pawned off with a small bonus.

Nobody can remember who came up with the solution, originally, and that person might not even be there, anymore, and probably never filed a patent, and may have no idea that their idea has even been built. They just run across it, later, in a tech magazine or museum, and say, "Well, will you look at that! Someone actually went and built it! Isn't that nice!"

Universities at least had the idea of cementing novel solutions in academic papers, but that: 1) only works if you're an academic, and at a university, 2) is an incredibly slow process, not appropriate for a truly innovative field, 3) leads to manifestations of perverse incentives and biased research frameworks, coming from 'publish or perish' policies.

But I think long-form notes and zaps solve for this problem. #Alexandria, especially, is being built to cater to this long-suffering class of chronic underachievers. It leaves a written, public, time-stamped record of Clever Ideas We Have Had.

Because they are clever, the ideas. And we have had them.

@ a95c6243:d345522c

Das Betriebsklima ist das einzige Klima, \ das du selbst bestimmen kannst. \ Anonym

Eine Strategie zur Anpassung an den Klimawandel hat das deutsche Bundeskabinett diese Woche beschlossen. Da «Wetterextreme wie die immer häufiger auftretenden Hitzewellen und Starkregenereignisse» oft desaströse Auswirkungen auf Mensch und Umwelt hätten, werde eine Anpassung an die Folgen des Klimawandels immer wichtiger. «Klimaanpassungsstrategie» nennt die Regierung das.

Für die «Vorsorge vor Klimafolgen» habe man nun erstmals klare Ziele und messbare Kennzahlen festgelegt. So sei der Erfolg überprüfbar, und das solle zu einer schnelleren Bewältigung der Folgen führen. Dass sich hinter dem Begriff Klimafolgen nicht Folgen des Klimas, sondern wohl «Folgen der globalen Erwärmung» verbergen, erklärt den Interessierten die Wikipedia. Dabei ist das mit der Erwärmung ja bekanntermaßen so eine Sache.

Die Zunahme schwerer Unwetterereignisse habe gezeigt, so das Ministerium, wie wichtig eine frühzeitige und effektive Warnung der Bevölkerung sei. Daher solle es eine deutliche Anhebung der Nutzerzahlen der sogenannten Nina-Warn-App geben.

Die ARD spurt wie gewohnt und setzt die Botschaft zielsicher um. Der Artikel beginnt folgendermaßen:

«Die Flut im Ahrtal war ein Schock für das ganze Land. Um künftig besser gegen Extremwetter gewappnet zu sein, hat die Bundesregierung eine neue Strategie zur Klimaanpassung beschlossen. Die Warn-App Nina spielt eine zentrale Rolle. Der Bund will die Menschen in Deutschland besser vor Extremwetter-Ereignissen warnen und dafür die Reichweite der Warn-App Nina deutlich erhöhen.»

Die Kommunen würden bei ihren «Klimaanpassungsmaßnahmen» vom Zentrum KlimaAnpassung unterstützt, schreibt das Umweltministerium. Mit dessen Aufbau wurden das Deutsche Institut für Urbanistik gGmbH, welches sich stark für Smart City-Projekte engagiert, und die Adelphi Consult GmbH beauftragt.

Adelphi beschreibt sich selbst als «Europas führender Think-and-Do-Tank und eine unabhängige Beratung für Klima, Umwelt und Entwicklung». Sie seien «global vernetzte Strateg*innen und weltverbessernde Berater*innen» und als «Vorreiter der sozial-ökologischen Transformation» sei man mit dem Deutschen Nachhaltigkeitspreis ausgezeichnet worden, welcher sich an den Zielen der Agenda 2030 orientiere.

Über die Warn-App mit dem niedlichen Namen Nina, die möglichst jeder auf seinem Smartphone installieren soll, informiert das Bundesamt für Bevölkerungsschutz und Katastrophenhilfe (BBK). Gewarnt wird nicht nur vor Extrem-Wetterereignissen, sondern zum Beispiel auch vor Waffengewalt und Angriffen, Strom- und anderen Versorgungsausfällen oder Krankheitserregern. Wenn man die Kategorie Gefahreninformation wählt, erhält man eine Dosis von ungefähr zwei Benachrichtigungen pro Woche.

Beim BBK erfahren wir auch einiges über die empfohlenen Systemeinstellungen für Nina. Der Benutzer möge zum Beispiel den Zugriff auf die Standortdaten «immer zulassen», und zwar mit aktivierter Funktion «genauen Standort verwenden». Die Datennutzung solle unbeschränkt sein, auch im Hintergrund. Außerdem sei die uneingeschränkte Akkunutzung zu aktivieren, der Energiesparmodus auszuschalten und das Stoppen der App-Aktivität bei Nichtnutzung zu unterbinden.

Dass man so dramatische Ereignisse wie damals im Ahrtal auch anders bewerten kann als Regierungen und Systemmedien, hat meine Kollegin Wiltrud Schwetje anhand der Tragödie im spanischen Valencia gezeigt. Das Stichwort «Agenda 2030» taucht dabei in einem Kontext auf, der wenig mit Nachhaltigkeitspreisen zu tun hat.

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Dieser Beitrag ist zuerst auf Transition News erschienen.

@ a17fb4ed:c53f7e91

Charcuterie Boards are perfect for parties and easy to create. With just a few basics you can bring great flavor to your next get together. I made this one for my work Christmas party a week ago and it was a hit. The following is the board I built.

Meats

• Italian Dry Salame: A classic charcuterie staple with rich, savory flavors
• Dry Hard Salami Con Vino: A wine-infused salami that adds a sophisticated touch to your board

Cheeses

• Extra Sharp Cheddar: Provides a bold, tangy flavor profile
• Dill Havarti: Offers a creamy texture with a hint of fresh dill
• Boursin Spreadable Garlic and Herb: A soft, flavorful spread perfect for easy enjoyment
• 60 Day Blue Cheese: Adds a strong, distinctive taste to complement the meats

Crackers

• Bruschettini Snack Size Italian Bruschetta Toast: Authentic Italian-style base
• Crunchmaster Original Multi-Seed: A crispy, nutritious option
• Brenton Original with Sea Salt: Classic cracker with a touch of saltiness
• Cabaret Crispy and Buttery: A rich, indulgent cracker choice

Delightful Add-Ons

• Chocolate Covered Cherries: A sweet contrast to savory meats and cheeses
• Local Hive Hot Honey: Adds a spicy-sweet element
• Pitted Olives: Brings a briny, Mediterranean touch

Platter and Serving Essentials

• Wooden Board: Provides a rustic, elegant presentation
• Spoon: Drizzle on the honey
• Spreading Utensils: For soft cheeses and spreads
• Toothpicks: Retrieving the olives
• Bowls: For randoms small items
• Cracker Container: Keeps crackers organized

Final Progression

Remember you can make these boards your own way. Hope you take some of the ideas and create something tasting.

Cheers, Yooper

foodstr #nostr #cheese #salami #charcuterie #crackers #honey

@ a95c6243:d345522c

Die Ungerechtigkeit ist uns nur in dem Falle angenehm,\ dass wir Vorteile aus ihr ziehen;\ in jedem andern hegt man den Wunsch,\ dass der Unschuldige in Schutz genommen werde.\ Jean-Jacques Rousseau

Politiker beteuern jederzeit, nur das Beste für die Bevölkerung zu wollen – nicht von ihr. Auch die zahlreichen unsäglichen «Corona-Maßnahmen» waren angeblich zu unserem Schutz notwendig, vor allem wegen der «besonders vulnerablen Personen». Daher mussten alle möglichen Restriktionen zwangsweise und unter Umgehung der Parlamente verordnet werden.

Inzwischen hat sich immer deutlicher herausgestellt, dass viele jener «Schutzmaßnahmen» den gegenteiligen Effekt hatten, sie haben den Menschen und den Gesellschaften enorm geschadet. Nicht nur haben die experimentellen Geninjektionen – wie erwartet – massive Nebenwirkungen, sondern Maskentragen schadet der Psyche und der Entwicklung (nicht nur unserer Kinder) und «Lockdowns und Zensur haben Menschen getötet».

Eine der wichtigsten Waffen unserer «Beschützer» ist die Spaltung der Gesellschaft. Die tiefen Gräben, die Politiker, Lobbyisten und Leitmedien praktisch weltweit ausgehoben haben, funktionieren leider nahezu in Perfektion. Von ihren persönlichen Erfahrungen als Kritikerin der Maßnahmen berichtete kürzlich eine Schweizerin im Interview mit Transition News. Sie sei schwer enttäuscht und verspüre bis heute eine Hemmschwelle und ein seltsames Unwohlsein im Umgang mit «Geimpften».

Menschen, die aufrichtig andere schützen wollten, werden von einer eindeutig politischen Justiz verfolgt, verhaftet und angeklagt. Dazu zählen viele Ärzte, darunter Heinrich Habig, Bianca Witzschel und Walter Weber. Über den aktuell laufenden Prozess gegen Dr. Weber hat Transition News mehrfach berichtet (z.B. hier und hier). Auch der Selbstschutz durch Verweigerung der Zwangs-Covid-«Impfung» bewahrt nicht vor dem Knast, wie Bundeswehrsoldaten wie Alexander Bittner erfahren mussten.

Die eigentlich Kriminellen schützen sich derweil erfolgreich selber, nämlich vor der Verantwortung. Die «Impf»-Kampagne war «das größte Verbrechen gegen die Menschheit». Trotzdem stellt man sich in den USA gerade die Frage, ob der scheidende Präsident Joe Biden nach seinem Sohn Hunter möglicherweise auch Anthony Fauci begnadigen wird – in diesem Fall sogar präventiv. Gibt es überhaupt noch einen Rest Glaubwürdigkeit, den Biden verspielen könnte?

Der Gedanke, den ehemaligen wissenschaftlichen Chefberater des US-Präsidenten und Direktor des National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) vorsorglich mit einem Schutzschild zu versehen, dürfte mit der vergangenen Präsidentschaftswahl zu tun haben. Gleich mehrere Personalentscheidungen des designierten Präsidenten Donald Trump lassen Leute wie Fauci erneut in den Fokus rücken.

Das Buch «The Real Anthony Fauci» des nominierten US-Gesundheitsministers Robert F. Kennedy Jr. erschien 2021 und dreht sich um die Machenschaften der Pharma-Lobby in der öffentlichen Gesundheit. Das Vorwort zur rumänischen Ausgabe des Buches schrieb übrigens Călin Georgescu, der Überraschungssieger der ersten Wahlrunde der aktuellen Präsidentschaftswahlen in Rumänien. Vielleicht erklärt diese Verbindung einen Teil der Panik im Wertewesten.

In Rumänien selber gab es gerade einen Paukenschlag: Das bisherige Ergebnis wurde heute durch das Verfassungsgericht annuliert und die für Sonntag angesetzte Stichwahl kurzfristig abgesagt – wegen angeblicher «aggressiver russischer Einmischung». Thomas Oysmüller merkt dazu an, damit sei jetzt in der EU das Tabu gebrochen, Wahlen zu verbieten, bevor sie etwas ändern können.

Unsere Empörung angesichts der Historie von Maßnahmen, die die Falschen beschützen und für die meisten von Nachteil sind, müsste enorm sein. Die Frage ist, was wir damit machen. Wir sollten nach vorne schauen und unsere Energie clever einsetzen. Abgesehen von der Umgehung von jeglichem «Schutz vor Desinformation und Hassrede» (sprich: Zensur) wird es unsere wichtigste Aufgabe sein, Gräben zu überwinden.

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Dieser Beitrag ist zuerst auf Transition News erschienen.

@ 6e4f2866:a76f7a29

Have you ever felt like you’re running as fast as you can in life, only to find yourself in the same spot? Trying to achieve goals, optimise yourself only to feel unfulfilled & lacking. That’s the hamster wheel—an exhausting, repetitive cycle that holds us captive in patterns we didn’t consciously choose. These aren’t just bad habits; they’re deep-rooted default programs born from early life experiences. Let’s explore what these hamster wheels are, how they shape us, and most importantly, how we can step off them for good.

What Are Hamster Wheels? \ \ The term #hamsterwheels ( hamstr) is a metaphor for the unconscious patterns that keep us stuck. I discovered these wheels through my own introspection & seeing these patterns in my clients. Imagine a wheel turning endlessly, powered by our own efforts but leading nowhere. These programs are often formed in childhood, when trauma, disconnection, or unmet needs force us to develop defense mechanisms to survive. They worked back then, but now they just keep us spinning.

\ The Mechanics of a Hamster Wheel \ \ Every hamster wheel has two opposing forces—gain and loss, right and wrong, attention and neglect, let down & support & unable & able. We strive to stay on the “good” side: gaining approval, being right, or receiving attention. But inevitably, the wheel flips, and we find ourselves losing, being wrong, or feeling ignored. It’s a cruel cycle of frustration that feels impossible to escape. 
You will be positioned on the left side or right side when you look at the wheel. One is yin dominant, non doing, unable, more of a victim. One is Yang, always doing, high achiever, seen as a winner. 

\ \ Left side is safe in the unableness so will self sacrifice when they are to feel able to& start to achieve. So as they climb up the wheel to the right, they will lose interest or confidence in what they are doing, either sliding back exhausted in their endeavour or flipping over into victimhood. They long to be confident & win at life but deep down feel they cannot. 

\ \ Right sided dwellers have to be right, are constantly striving & hate (kryptonite) feeling unable. When they feel unable they will become enraged. They are compelled to gain valuableness in their own eyes and those of others. They are usually very difficult to work with as working with a therapist makes them feel unable. They will eventually put so much energy running up the right side that they will be flung backwards into usableness often times falling into deep depression (unableness) or even attracting illness. 

They always attract unableness & the left sided experiences to balance themselves out. 

The wheel always balances itself out. This is the way of the hamster wheel. 


\ \ Here’s the kicker: these wheels are powered by our deepest fears and insecurities. They keep us stuck not because we’re lazy or unmotivated, but because they’ve become our default way of operating, they are our automated defence systems.

\ Common Hamster Wheels \ \ There are five key hamster wheels that we all grapple with:

1. Gain/Loss: The endless chase for more—more success, more love, more recognition—followed by the crushing fear of losing it all.
2. Right/Wrong: The compulsion to always be right, which leads to the paralyzing fear of being wrong.
3. Attention/Neglect: Oscillating between craving attention and fearing rejection or neglect.
4. Able/Unable: Striving to prove we’re capable, only to feel crushed by moments of doubt or failure.
5. Support/Let Down: Giving endlessly to others for validation, but feeling betrayed or let down when it’s not reciprocated.

If you watch your thoughts closely you will see these programs or songs at the root of all your thoughts.

How Hamster Wheels Impact Your Life \ \ These patterns influence every aspect of our lives: our relationships, careers, and even our self-worth. They dictate how we act, how we think, and even how we feel. For example:

• The drive to gain approval often results in feeling unworthy.
• A relentless pursuit of success can spiral into burnout and self-criticism.
• Efforts to avoid neglect might lead to overcompensating and losing yourself in the process. And the hardest part? These wheels feel like home. They’re familiar, and stepping off them can feel terrifying.

They quite literally create your reality.

\ Breaking the Cycle The good news? You can break free. It’s not easy, but it’s possible. Here’s how:

1. Observe Without Judgment: Start by noticing your patterns. This is real #meditation What thoughts or actions are you repeating? Don’t judge yourself—just observe. Awareness is the first step to freedom.
2. Understand the Roots: These wheels didn’t come from nowhere. They’re the result of unmet needs or childhood traumas. By understanding their origins, you can begin to dismantle their power.
3. Reject External Solutions: No guru, book, or quick fix can save you. True freedom comes from within. The moment you stop looking for external validation, the wheel starts to lose its grip.

You must take full responsibility for everything in your life. Only you can do this proof of work.

\ Final Thoughts Hamster wheels aren’t your fault, but they are your responsibility. They’ve been running your life long enough. Isn’t it time to take back control? Imagine stepping off the wheel, feeling the ground beneath your feet for the first time. That’s where real freedom begins. So, what hamster wheel are you on? Are you ready to step off and embrace a life of clarity, peace, and purpose? The journey starts here, with a single step: observation. Everything else flows from there.

@ a95c6243:d345522c

Konsum ist Therapie.
Wolfgang Joop

Umweltbewusstes Verhalten und verantwortungsvoller Konsum zeugen durchaus von einer wünschenswerten Einstellung. Ob man deswegen allerdings einen grünen statt eines schwarzen Freitags braucht, darf getrost bezweifelt werden – zumal es sich um manipulatorische Konzepte handelt. Wie in der politischen Landschaft sind auch hier die Etiketten irgendwas zwischen nichtssagend und trügerisch.

Heute ist also wieder mal «Black Friday», falls Sie es noch nicht mitbekommen haben sollten. Eigentlich haben wir ja eher schon eine ganze «Black Week», der dann oft auch noch ein «Cyber Monday» folgt. Die Werbebranche wird nicht müde, immer neue Anlässe zu erfinden oder zu importieren, um uns zum Konsumieren zu bewegen. Und sie ist damit sehr erfolgreich.

Warum fallen wir auf derartige Werbetricks herein und kaufen im Zweifelsfall Dinge oder Mengen, die wir sicher nicht brauchen? Pure Psychologie, würde ich sagen. Rabattschilder triggern etwas in uns, was den Verstand in Stand-by versetzt. Zusätzlich beeinflussen uns alle möglichen emotionalen Reize und animieren uns zum Schnäppchenkauf.

Gedankenlosigkeit und Maßlosigkeit können besonders bei der Ernährung zu ernsten Problemen führen. Erst kürzlich hat mir ein Bekannter nach einer USA-Reise erzählt, dass es dort offenbar nicht unüblich ist, schon zum ausgiebigen Frühstück in einem Restaurant wenigstens einen Liter Cola zu trinken. Gerne auch mehr, um das Gratis-Nachfüllen des Bechers auszunutzen.

Kritik am schwarzen Freitag und dem unnötigen Konsum kommt oft von Umweltschützern. Neben Ressourcenverschwendung, hohem Energieverbrauch und wachsenden Müllbergen durch eine zunehmende Wegwerfmentalität kommt dabei in der Regel auch die «Klimakrise» auf den Tisch.

Die EU-Kommission lancierte 2015 den Begriff «Green Friday» im Kontext der überarbeiteten Rechtsvorschriften zur Kennzeichnung der Energieeffizienz von Elektrogeräten. Sie nutzte die Gelegenheit kurz vor dem damaligen schwarzen Freitag und vor der UN-Klimakonferenz COP21, bei der das Pariser Abkommen unterzeichnet werden sollte.

Heute wird ein grüner Freitag oft im Zusammenhang mit der Forderung nach «nachhaltigem Konsum» benutzt. Derweil ist die Europäische Union schon weit in ihr Geschäftsmodell des «Green New Deal» verstrickt. In ihrer Propaganda zum Klimawandel verspricht sie tatsächlich «Unterstützung der Menschen und Regionen, die von immer häufigeren Extremwetter-Ereignissen betroffen sind». Was wohl die Menschen in der Region um Valencia dazu sagen?

Ganz im Sinne des Great Reset propagierten die Vereinten Nationen seit Ende 2020 eine «grüne Erholung von Covid-19, um den Klimawandel zu verlangsamen». Der UN-Umweltbericht sah in dem Jahr einen Schwerpunkt auf dem Verbraucherverhalten. Änderungen des Konsumverhaltens des Einzelnen könnten dazu beitragen, den Klimaschutz zu stärken, hieß es dort.

Der Begriff «Schwarzer Freitag» wurde in den USA nicht erstmals für Einkäufe nach Thanksgiving verwendet – wie oft angenommen –, sondern für eine Finanzkrise. Jedoch nicht für den Börsencrash von 1929, sondern bereits für den Zusammenbruch des US-Goldmarktes im September 1869. Seitdem mussten die Menschen weltweit so einige schwarze Tage erleben.

Kürzlich sind die britischen Aufsichtsbehörden weiter von ihrer Zurückhaltung nach dem letzten großen Finanzcrash von 2008 abgerückt. Sie haben Regeln für den Bankensektor gelockert, womit sie «verantwortungsvolle Risikobereitschaft» unterstützen wollen. Man würde sicher zu schwarz sehen, wenn man hier ein grünes Wunder befürchten würde.

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Dieser Beitrag ist zuerst auf Transition News erschienen.

@ a95c6243:d345522c

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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Dieser Beitrag ist zuerst auf Transition News erschienen.

@ a95c6243:d345522c

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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Dieser Beitrag ist zuerst auf Transition News erschienen.

@ c631e267:c2b78d3e

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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Danke, dass du diesen Weg mit mir weitergehst!

@ a95c6243:d345522c

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

@ 361d3e1e:50bc10a8

https://forex-strategy.com/2024/12/27/prices-wars-investments-a-guide-for-2025/ What to invest in and what to avoid as a bad investment? Prices, wars, investments - a guide for 2025. The end of Brussels-centered governance is in sight. What are our predictions for 2025?

europe #usa #year2025 #forecasts #politics #war #russia #israel #trump #dollar #bitcoin #gold

@ ee11a5df:b76c4e49

China

I might be wrong, but this is how I see it

This is a post within a series I am going to call "I might be wrong, but this is how I see it"

I have repeatedly found that my understanding of China is quite different from that of many libertarian-minded Americans. And so I make this post to explain how I see it. Maybe you will learn something. Maybe I will learn something.

It seems to me that many American's see America as a shining beacon of freedom with a few small problems, and China is an evil communist country spreading communism everywhere. From my perspective, America was a shining beacon of freedom that has fallen to being typical in most ways, and which is now acting as a falling empire, and China was communist for about a decade, but turned and ran away from that as fast as they could (while not admitting it) and the result is that the US and China are not much different anymore when it comes to free markets. Except they are very different in some other respects.

China has a big problem

China has a big problem. But it is not the communism problem that most Westerners diagnose.

I argue that China is no longer communist, it is only communist in name. And that while it is not a beacon of free market principles, it is nearly as free market now as Western nations like Germany and New Zealand are (being somewhat socialist themselves).

No, China's real problem is authoritarian one-party rule. And that core problem causes all of the other problems, including its human rights abuses.

Communism and Socialism

Communism and Socialism are bad ideas. I don't want to argue it right here, but most readers will already understand this. The last thing I intend to do with this post is to bolster or defend those bad ideas. If you dear reader hold a candle for socialism, let me know and I can help you extinguish it with a future "I might be wrong, but this is how I see it" installment.

Communism is the idea of structuring a society around common ownership of the means of production, distribution, and exchange, and the idea of allocating goods and services based on need. It eliminates the concept of private property, of social classes, ultimately of money and finally of the state itself.

Back under Mao in 1958-1962 (The Great Leap Forward), China tried this (in part). Some 50+ million people died. It was an abject failure.

But due to China's real problem (authoritarianism, even worship of their leaders), the leading classes never admitted this. And even today they continue to use the word "Communist" for things that aren't communist at all, as a way to save face, and also in opposition to the United States of America and Europe.

Authorities are not eager to admit their faults. But this is not just a Chinese fault, it is a fault in human nature that affects all countries. The USA still refuses to admit they assassinated their own president JFK. They do not admit they bombed the Nord Stream pipeline.

China defines "socialism with Chinese characteristics" to mean "the leadership of the Communist Party of China". So they still keep the words socialism and communism, but they long ago dropped the meanings of those words. I'm not sure if this is a political ploy against us in the West or not.

China's Marketplace Today

Today China exhibits very few of the properties of communism.

They have some common ownership and state enterprises, but not much differently than Western countries (New Zealand owns Air New Zealand and Kiwibank and Kiwirail, etc). And there are private enterprises all over China. They compete and some succeed and some fail. You might hear about a real-estate bank collapsing. China has private property. They have mostly free markets. They have money, and the most definitely have social classes and a very strong state.

None of that is inline with what communist thinkers want. Communist thinkers in China moan that China has turned away from communism.

Deng Xiaoping who succeeded Mao and attempted to correct the massive mistake, did much when he said "to get rich is glorious."

China achieved staggering rates of economic growth. 10% annually on average since 1977. Chinese economic reform started in 1979 and has continued through successive administrations (Deng, Jiang, Hu and now Xi).

China is now the world's largest economy (by GDP in PPP terms) since 2016.

I was first made aware of China's economic growth by Jim Rogers, an American commodities expert who travelled through China (and the rest of the world from 1990-1992) and in 2007 moved to Singapore where he ensured his daughters learned to speak Mandarin, because Jim knew where the economic growth was going to happen. Jim always spoke positively of China's economic prospects, and his view was so different from the "China is a nasty communist place" view that I had grown up with that my mind opened.

How can anybody believe they are still a communist country? In what world does it make sense that communism can produce such a massively booming economy? It doesn't make sense because it is simply wrong.

What does happen is that the CPC interferes. It lets the market do what markets do, but it interferes where it thinks oversight and regulation would produce a better result.

Western nations interfere with their markets too. They have oversight and regulation. In fact some of China's planned reforms had to be put on hold by Xi due to Donald Trump's trade war with China. That's right, they were trying to be even more free market than America, but America's protectionism prodded Xi to keep control so he could fight back efficiently.

Government oversight and regulation IMHO is mostly bad because it gets out of control, and there are no market forces to correct this. This gets even more extreme in a one-party system, so I can judge that China's oversight and regulation problems are very likely worse than those in Western nations (but I have no first hand experience or evidence).

Why do you keep saying CPC?

The Communist Party of China (CPC) is the ruling party in China. That is their official name. To call them the CCP is to concede to the idea that the British and Americans get to name everybody. I'm not sure who is right, since CPC or CCP is their "English" name (in Chinese it is 中国共产党 and Westernized it is Zhōngguó Gòngchǎndǎng). Nonetheless, I'll call them CPC because that is their wish.

Social Credit System

China moved from a planned economy to a market economy in stages. They didn't want any more sudden changes (can you blame them?). In the process, many institutions that have existed in the West for a long time didn't exist in China and they had to arise somehow. IMHO market forces would have brought these about in the private sector, but the one-party CP of China instead decided to create these.

One of those institutions was a credit score system. In the West we have TransUnion and Equifax that maintain credit ratings on people, and we have S&P, Moody's and Fitch that maintain credit ratings on companies. The domain of these ratings is their financial credit-worthiness.

So the People's Bank of China developed a credit information database for it's own needs. The government picked up on the idea and started moving towards a National Credit Management System. In 2004 it became an official goal to establish a credit system compatible with a modern market system. By 2006 banks were required to report on consumer creditworthiness.

But unchecked one-party governmental power will often take a good idea (credit worthiness data shared among private parties) and systematize it and apply it top-down, creating a solution and a new problem at the same time.

Nonetheless, originally it was about credit worthiness and also criminal convictions. That is no big scary thing that some right-wing American commentators will lead you to believe. In the US for example criminal records are public, so China's Social Credit System started out being no more over-reaching in scope than what Americans have lived under their entire lives, its only fault (a severe one) being centrally planned. And that remained the case up until about 2016 (in my estimation).

But of course there is always scope creep. As it exists today, I have reason to believe that CPC officials and even A.I. use judgement calls to score someone on how moral that person has been! Of course that is not a good idea, and IMHO the problem stems from one-party rule, and authoritarian administration of ideas that should instead be handled by the private sector.

Environmental, Social, and Governance

ESG is a system that came out of a couple basic ideas. The first is that many two-party transactions actually have externalities. They don't just affect the two parties, they also affect everybody else. When you fly in an airplane, you increase the CO2 in the atmosphere that everybody has to pay for (eventually). You may dispute that example, but that is no doubt one of the motivations of ESG.

But of course the recognition of this basic issue didn't lead all people towards market solutions (well it did, but those have been mostly messed up by others), but instead led many people towards ESG, which is a social credit scoring system which applies scores based on environmental and social side-effects of market transactions.

This is not at all the same as China's social credit system, which I described above. I hope you can see the difference.

In fact, China imported ESG from the West. Chinese companies, of their free will, in an attempt to court Western capital, achieve ESG goals for those Western investors. They have been playing this ESG game for 20 years just like the entire world has, because the West has imposed this faux-morality upon them. It isn't something China exported to us, it is something we exported to them.

I think China has avoided Woke-ism

My understanding of Chinese people, based on what I've heard many Chinese people say, is that China isn't affected by the Western woke-ism epidemic. They deride Western white woke people with the term "Baizuo". They have never sent an incompetent break dancer to the Olympics because of wok-ism. Competence is highly respected as is the competition to be the most competent, which (when augmented by a one-child policy which is no longer) has produced child prodigies like no other country has.

What about predatory loans of the Belt and Road initiative?

Predatory is an odd name for loans to people in need. The World Bank makes loans to people in need. China does too. China stands in opposition to Western Empire, and in that regard they produce their own alternative BRICS institutions. This is one of them.

There is AFAIK nothing more predatory about them. It is just that in some cases the borrowers have trouble paying them back and they get foreclosed upon. I don't think this is worthy of much discussion, except that the term "predatory" seems to me to be a propaganda device.

What about foreign influence from China?

China wants to influence the world, especially its own trading partners and potential trading partners. Doing that above board is fine by me.

But some of it is undoubtedly covert. Sometimes Chinese-born people run for public office in Western countries. In New Zealand we stood down some when it became clear they were being influenced too much by the CPC while being charged with representing their local town (dual loyalty issues). If only the USA would do the same thing to their dually-loyal politicians.

And all large nations run influence operations. The USA has the CIA, for example, and claims this "soft power" is actually the better alternative to what would otherwise be military intervention (but IMHO shouldn't be either). I'm not defending such operations (I despise them), I'm just explaining how China's position of exerting influence is not only no big deal and totally expected, it pales in comparison to the United States' influence operations which often become military excursions (something China rarely ever does).

What about the Great Firewall?

Yeah, that sucks. Again, single-party authoritarian control gone to extremes.

What about Human Rights Abuses? What about the Uyghur Genocide?

I don't like them. To the extent they are occurring (and I lean towards the belief that they are occurring), I condemn them.

China has anti-terrorism and anti-extremism policies that go too far. They end up oppressing and/or criminalizing cultures that aren't Chinese enough. But especially, China punishes dissent. Disagreement with the CPC is the high crime. It is the one-party rule that causes this problem. Anybody who speaks out against the CPC or goes against the state in any way is harshly punished. This happens to Uyghurs, to Falun Gong, to Tibetans, and to any religion that is seen as subversive.

Amnesty International and the UN OHCHR have documented issues around the Xinjiang Uyghur autonomous region, Tibet, LGBT rights, death penalty, workers rights, and the Hong Kong special administrative region. I am not about to pretend I know better than they do, but to some extent they go too far.

Amnesty International says this about the USA: Discrimination and violence against LGBTI people were widespread and anti-LGBTI legislation increased. Bills were introduced to address reparations regarding slavery and its legacies. Multiple states implemented total bans on abortion or severely limited access to it. Gender-based violence disproportionately affected Indigenous women. Access to the USA for asylum seekers and migrants was still fraught with obstacles, but some nationalities continued to enjoy Temporary Protected Status. Moves were made to restrict the freedom to protest in a number of states. Black people were disproportionately affected by the use of lethal force by police. No progress was made in the abolition of the death penalty, apart from in Washington. Arbitrary and indefinite detention in the US naval base Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, continued. Despite extensive gun violence, no further firearm reform policies were considered, but President Biden did announce the creation of the White House Office of Gun Violence Prevention. The USA continued to use lethal force in countries around the world. Black people, other racialized groups and low-income people bore the brunt of the health impacts of the petrochemical industry, and the use of fossil fuels continued unabated.

Amnesty international didn't even point out that the US government quashes free speech via pressure on social media corporations (because Amnesty International is far too lefty).

So who is worse, China or the US? I'm not going to make that judgement call, but suffice it to say that in my mind, China is not obviously worse.

China violates freedom of expression, association, and assembly of all people. This is bad, and a consequence mainly of one-party rule (again, what I think is the root cause of most of their ills). They arrest, detain, potentially kill anybody who publicly disagrees openly with their government. Clearly this is an excess of authoritarianism, a cancer that is very advanced in China.

As to organ harvesting of Uyghur Muslims, I think this is a myth.

China has dealt harshly with Muslim extremism. They don't offer freedom of religion to ISIS. And Amnesty International complains about that. But practically speaking you probably shouldn't respect the extremist religion of people who want to force everybody into a global caliphate through threat of violence. As you are well aware, some extremist Muslims (<1% of Islam) believe in using violence to bring about a global caliphate. Those extremists pop up in every country and are usually dealt with harshly. China has had to deal with them too.

I have watched two different Western YouTubers travel to Xinjiang province trying to find the oppressed Uyghurs and interview them. They can't find them. What they find instead are Uyghur Muslims doing their prayers five times a day at the local mosque. And also stories that the CPC pitched in some money to help them renovate the mosque. Maybe they were afraid it was a CPC trap and so they wouldn't speak freely. Amnesty International and the UN OHCHR say more than a million are "arbitrarily detained" and I'm not going to argue otherwise. But I'd be more convinced if there were a stream of pictures and news like there is out of Gaza, and it is suspicious that there isn't.

Conclusion

China is more like a Western nation that Westerners realize. Economically, militarily, socially. It still has a very serious obstacle to overcome: one-party rule. I don't think the one-party is going to voluntarily give up power. So most probably at some point in the future there will be a revolution. But in my opinion it won't happen anytime soon. For the most part Chinese people are living high on the hog, getting rich, enjoying the good life, in positive spirits about life, and are getting along with their government quite well at present.

@ b2caa9b3:9eab0fb5

The past few weeks have been uneventful for me, spent mostly shuttling between the hospital and the hostel. Every other day, I made my way to the hospital for a foot dressing change — the only time I ventured outside. It was a routine walk, one that led me along a single road to the hospital and back. Despite the limited movement, I captured a few photos along the way, which I’d like to share with you today.

During this time, I kept myself busy at the hostel, sorting through old travel data. As I sifted through my memories and photos, it struck me: I’ve been living a nomadic life for nearly 8 years now. It all started back in 2016 when I was sitting in the small town of Korb in Germany, pondering what to do with my life. It was a tough time, and I don’t want to go into the details, but by the end of that year, I decided to take the plunge and start traveling. Initially, I planned to visit a friend in March 2017, but that fell through. I quickly reworked my plan and decided to visit my grandparents farm, or rather, where it once stood. The only hitch was that I had no money for the trip. So, I hitchhiked, took buses, and walked there, which ended up being a life-changing adventure. Later, a journalist mentioned this journey in an article on migration. And that’s how it all began — the start of my nomadic lifestyle.

Fast forward almost 8 years, and here I am, sitting at the foot of Mount Kilimanjaro with a healing foot that still needs some care. It’s almost better, though it remains sensitive due to the thin skin, and it needs to strengthen before it’s fully healed. I hope I’ve learned from this and that such an injury won’t happen again.

I’ve extended my stay in Moshi until December 30th, and I might stay until the start of the new year. As for where I’ll go next, I’m still unsure. I’ve thought about taking a bus east and then coming back by train, or perhaps heading west and making a loop south to east, ultimately returning to where I am now.

The image above is called a Christmas tree because it reveals its full beauty only during the Christmas season.

Last night, I thought about attending a BBQ festival, now that my foot is almost healed. But when I arrived, the police officer didn’t understand English and called a man for clarification. He told me I couldn’t enter Uhuru Park because there was a meeting happening. I didn’t want to argue with them, so I turned back. It was a small loss — the entrance fee was 10k TZS, which included two free beers, and the BBQ meat was 20k TZS. But instead, I wandered around the area, discovering beautiful cafes, bars, and artist shops. It was a peaceful stroll, and I plan to return during the day to explore more.

Currently, I’m sitting in the hostel bar, downloading some travel videos from my cloud. The internet here isn’t the most stable, so the process takes longer than I’d like. Once downloaded, I’ll upload them to another cloud service where I can access and work on them. This is the reality of my work as a traveler — sometimes progress feels slow, especially when the internet connection is unreliable. But as always, I remain hopeful that I’ll find a place with better connectivity soon.

The image above shows a banana transport. The area around Moshi is known for its extensive banana farming.

Lately, I’ve been trying to fix my fedora so I can edit videos offline, but I’ve run into some technical issues. The drivers for HD/4K and MP4 aren’t working as expected. If anyone knows what I need to install on my ThinkPad T470s to fix this, I’d appreciate the advice! I also considered learning LaTeX to write my blog posts and convert them into Markdown, but I’m still a novice when it comes to LaTeX. In the past, I used Kile, but I’ve since moved away from KDE, though I still use Digikam and Kdenlive for photo and video editing. Kdenlive, however, doesn’t seem to handle MP4 files properly, which is another challenge I’m trying to figure out.

On top of everything, I’ve been thinking a lot about ways to earn some extra money. The last few months have been financially challenging — I’ve had medical bills to cover, including paying for a child’s hospital expenses in Kenya. It has made me rethink how I manage my money. As a minimalist, I try to keep my costs low, but sometimes things come up that are beyond my control. I’m working on finding new ways to supplement my income, and hopefully, I’ll come up with some ideas soon.

In the meantime, I’ll leave you with a few photos from Moshi, a town at the base of Kilimanjaro. It has a pleasant climate and offers a relaxed vibe, even though there’s not much to do. I hope you enjoy these images, and I’ll share more updates soon as my journey continues.

Stay tuned for more adventures!

Image above: He thought he needed to show off his strength when he saw me and lifted the TukTuk.

The image above features a mosque with Mount Kilimanjaro in the background. I took this photo yesterday during my visit to Uhuru Park.

Support

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

@ 42342239:1d80db24

Knappheit statt Slogans: eine Dosis ökonomischer Realität für die politischen Debatten

Die EU-Wirtschaft steht vor zahlreichen Herausforderungen, von hohen Energiekosten bis hin zu geringer Produktivität. Doch hinter der offiziellen Rhetorik verbirgt sich eine Annahme, die kaum hinterfragt wird: dass der grüne Wandel automatisch zu Wirtschaftswachstum und mehr Wohlstand führen wird. Aber stimmt das wirklich?

Eine englische Fassung dieses Textes finden Sie hier.

In Deutschland, das wieder einmal das Etikett „Kranker Mann Europas" tragen muss, kämpft Bundeskanzler Olaf Scholz vor der Wahl im Februar mit alarmierend niedrigen Vertrauenswerten. Aber vielleicht ist das gar nicht so überraschend. ****Die deutsche Industrieproduktion ist rückläufig, seit die grüne Agenda in Mode gekommen ist. ****Die energieintensive Produktion ist in nur wenigen Jahren um ganze 20 Prozent zurückgegangen. Volkswagen schließt Fabriken, Thyssenkrupp entlässt massiv Mitarbeiter und mehr als drei Millionen Rentner sind von Armut bedroht .

Wenn dies Europas „Mann auf dem Mond"-Moment ist, wie EU-Kommissarin von der Leyen ****es 2019 ausdrückte ****, dann ist das nicht viel, womit man angeben kann . Zumindest nicht, wenn man kein Sadist ist.

Der Bericht des ehemaligen EZB-Chefs Mario Draghi über die Wettbewerbsfähigkeit der EU wurde bereits früher diskutiert. Eines der Probleme, auf die hingewiesen wurde, war, dass europäische Unternehmen erheblich höhere Energiekosten haben als ihre amerikanischen Konkurrenten. Die Strompreise sind zwei- bis dreimal so hoch und die Erdgaspreise vier- bis fünfmal so hoch.

Deutschland ist vielleicht am schlimmsten dran, was zum Teil an der Entscheidung der ehemaligen Bundeskanzlerin Angela Merkel liegt, vollständig aus der Atomkraft auszusteigen (eine Entscheidung, die nicht nur keine breite Unterstützung fand , sondern die sie auch nicht als Fehler eingestehen will). Die Sabotage der Nord Stream 2 hat die Situation noch verschlimmert.

Ohne Realkapital kein wirtschaftlicher Wohlstand

Der Ausstieg aus der Atomenergie in Deutschland ist ein Beispiel dafür, wie politische Entscheidungen zur Verringerung der Kapazität der Wirtschaft beigetragen haben. Dasselbe gilt für die Sabotage der Nord Stream. Realkapital, wie Gebäude, Maschinen und Ausrüstung, ist für die Produktivität der Wirtschaft von entscheidender Bedeutung (z. B. Kennzahlen wie das BIP pro Arbeitsstunde). Ein größerer und effizienterer Kapitalstock ermöglicht die Herstellung von mehr Waren und Dienstleistungen mit der gleichen Menge an Arbeit, was zu mehr Produktion, höheren Löhnen und größerem materiellen Wohlstand führt. Das ist grundlegende Ökonomie. ****Wenn andererseits Realkapital aufgrund politischer Entscheidungen für obsolet erklärt wird, wie im Fall der Abschaltung der Atomkraft, verringert dies die Kapazität der Wirtschaft. ****Dasselbe gilt, wenn Realkapital zerstört wird, wie dies bei Nord Stream der Fall war.

Weiteres reales Betriebskapital wird zurückgestellt

EU-Kommissarin von der Leyen verspricht Besserung. Sie scheint überzeugt, dass der Niedergang der EU durch eine Verdreifachung der grünen Ziele des Blocks umgekehrt werden kann, und hat die Dekarbonisierung als eine der drei wichtigsten Säulen eines neuen „Wettbewerbsfähigkeitskompasses" aufgeführt. Wenn die Realität nicht den Erwartungen entspricht, kann man immer noch „Strg+Alt+Slogan" drücken und hoffen, dass niemand merkt, dass sich nichts verbessert hat.

Ihre Pläne bedeuten jedoch, dass bestehendes und derzeit funktionierendes Realkapital in Zukunft in noch größerem Umfang abgeschrieben wird. Dies lässt sich mit einer Nation vergleichen, die Jahr für Jahr ihre Naturschutzgebiete schrittweise erweitert. Tatsächlich geschieht dies auch. Der Kunming-Montreal-Rahmen für die Artenvielfalt sieht vor, dass bis 2030 30 % aller Flächen an Land und im Meer geschützt werden müssen. Ein Land, das derzeit weniger schützt, muss daher zusätzliche Gebiete identifizieren, die geschützt werden können. ****Der Prozess, 30 % aller Flächen zu schützen, wird wahrscheinlich das Produktionspotenzial der Wirtschaft verringern. ****Mit schrumpfenden Feldern wird es weniger Karotten geben (es sei denn, es werden bedeutende technologische Fortschritte erzielt).

Konsequenzen für Sicherheitspolitik und -vorsorge

Auf dem derzeitigen Weg wird mehr Realkapital auf die lange Bank geschoben, was weitreichende Folgen haben kann, nicht zuletzt für unsere Sicherheitspolitik. Wenn Russland beispielsweise Artilleriegeschosse etwa dreimal schneller produzieren kann, und zwar zu Kosten, die etwa ein Viertel der Kosten betragen, die die westlichen Verbündeten der Ukraine dafür aufbringen , dann ist klar, dass dies sicherheitspolitische Konsequenzen hat. Ebenso wird es negative sicherheitspolitische Konsequenzen haben, wenn die Strompreise in Deutschland fünfmal höher sind als in China, was derzeit der Fall ist . Im Vergleich zur EU hat China tatsächlich einen höheren Kohlendioxidausstoß pro Kopf, wobei der Unterschied den ****verfügbaren Daten zufolge etwa 50 % beträgt ****. Bereinigt um den internationalen Handel emittiert China pro Kopf 10 % mehr als Schweden .

Auch eine Perspektive der Vorsorge ist zu finden. Anfang der 1990er Jahre produzierten schwedische Landwirte fast 75 % der Nahrungsmittel des Landes. Heute ist Schwedens Bevölkerung deutlich gewachsen, aber die Nahrungsmittelproduktion hat nicht Schritt gehalten. Jeder zweite Bissen wird heute importiert. In Schweden können wir uns sogar rühmen, dass wir uns nicht einmal mit der einfachsten aller Feldfrüchte versorgen können -- Kartoffeln . Können wir wirklich sicher sein, dass deutlich erweiterte Naturschutzgebiete, wie sie im Kunming-Montreal-Rahmenwerk für Schweden vorgeschrieben sind, unsere Nahrungsmittelvorsorge nicht noch weiter verschlechtern werden?

Erinnert an kleine Gnome

Ich erinnere mich an eine Folge der 90er-Jahre-Serie South Park, in der kleine Gnome Unterhosen sammeln . Als sie nach ihrem Plan gefragt wurden, beschrieben sie ihre Methode:

1. Unterhosen sammeln
2. ???
3. profitieren!

Übersetzt auf die grüne **Energiewende **:

1. reales Kapital zerstören und Land und Meer erhalten
2. ???
3. wirtschaftlicher Wohlstand!

Was kann sich die EU wirklich leisten?

In der Wirtschaft geht es im Grunde um die Verwaltung knapper Ressourcen, was viele Menschen offenbar vergessen haben. Es ist höchste Zeit, zu hinterfragen, was sich die EU wirklich leisten kann. Können wir es uns wirklich leisten, uns für einen Krieg gegen Russland, China und den Iran zu rüsten und uns gleichzeitig mit grünen Versprechen von reduzierten Kohlendioxidemissionen und erhöhter Artenvielfalt selbst die Hände zu binden? Und das in einer Situation, in der die nächste US-Regierung wahrscheinlich massiv in die Steigerung ihrer Wettbewerbsvorteile durch Deregulierung, niedrigere Energiepreise, Steuersenkungen und einen Rückzug aus dem Pariser Abkommen investieren wird ?

Als von der Leyen für das deutsche Militär verantwortlich war, sei die Lage " katastrophal " gewesen. Alle sechs U-Boote des Landes waren außer Gefecht gesetzt . Zeitweise war kein einziges der 14 Transportflugzeuge des Landes flugfähig. Bei Übungen mussten deutsche Soldaten Besen statt Gewehren verwenden .

Hoffentlich wird von der Leyen in ihrem Umgang mit der Wirtschaft, der Verteidigung und der Abwehrbereitschaft der EU mehr Erfolg zeigen als in ihrer Rolle als deutsche Verteidigungsministerin. Es könnte jedoch auch an der Zeit sein, dass mehr Menschen die vorherrschenden Narrative, die unsere Politik prägen, in Frage stellen. Was, wenn die Fakten nicht ganz mit der Wahrheit übereinstimmen, die uns erzählt wird?

@ acbcec47:dd305bec

Prepare starter

• 1 part starter (~30g)
• 2 parts wholemeal rye flour (~60g)
• 2 parts warm water (~60g)

Stir well, then leave to stand warm and covered until the volume has almost doubled.

Once the starter has doubled in volume and a light cap has formed, it can be used for the dough.

Ingredients

• Flour (2/3 550/1100 wheat flour, 1/3 997 rye flour) = 600g
• Water: 60% of the flour quantity = 360g warm water
• Starter: 20% of the flour quantity = 120g starter
• Salt: 3% of the flour = 18g

Put the rest of the starter (about 30g) back in the fridge for the next batch. Knead everything well for 5 minutes, then leave to stand warm and covered.

Fermenting

First fermenting phase in one piece until the volume has almost doubled.

Then divide into portions ...

Shape and leave to rise on the baking tray for 1-2 hours.

Baking

• Preheat oven to 230°C (450°F)
• Just before baking, cut in the top of the rolls with a razor blade, so that they can extend

• Bake for 20 min with steam/cover at 210°C (410°F)
• Then remove the steam/cover and bake another 15-20 min at 180°C (360°F)

Enjoy ...

@ 6bae33c8:607272e8

The NFL is becoming like the NBA — there are games almost every day, it seems, and not many of them are good. Don’t get me wrong, I like having games on in the background during holidays as much as the next guy, but there’s a big difference from being in the background and meriting your focused attention.

I caught a little of Chiefs-Steelers. It’s obvious there are only three, maybe four, teams that can possibly make the Super Bowl in the AFC. The Texans, Steelers, Broncos (and probably the Chargers) are drawing dead. I don’t just mean they’re underdogs, I mean there’s no point in even playing the games.

I caught more of Texans-Ravens, and it was even worse. The Texans offense has nothing, and their defense can’t stop real teams like the Ravens or Bills. C.J. Stroud was so promising as a rookie, but he’s in a dead-end environment right now with that offensive line and coaching.

Mercifully I caught none of the Seahawks 6-3 win over the Bears. I had the Bears +3.5 in my home picking pool, so that was good. Also, I should have used the Ravens in Circa (easiest money of all time), but I didn’t have time to get the Christmas Day games in before submitting.

• Seems like players are dropping like flies now. I had to drop CeeDee Lamb for KaVontae Turpin in the Steak League, and half the league including Malik Nabers, Jalen Hurts, Tyreek Hill, Jaylen Waddle, A.J. Brown, Davante Adams, Tee Higgins, etc. are missing practices and/or questionable to play. Just a war of attrition at this point.

• Maybe Mike Tomlin had to switch to Russell Wilson after Justin Fields’ substandard play, but it would have been better for the Steelers to have developed Fields and found out. Wilson gives them no upside whatsoever.

• Isiah Pacheco is hurt again. It was only a matter of time before he fell apart, given his insanely hard running style. Marion The Barbarian 2.0.

• Xavier Worthy has come on of late. I wanted Brian Thomas in my Dynasty League, but he went one pick before me, so I settled on Worthy who might yet be worthy.

• Travis Kelce was wide open on at least four throws, like the Steelers didn’t bother covering him. Very odd.

• The Chiefs have locked up the No. 1 seed at 15-1 after a Wednesday game. Which means they have 11 days off until a rest-your-starters game in Week 18, and two weeks off after that due to the bye. This team is like the 1972 Dolphins in that no one thinks it’s the greatest of all-time despite the record. If the Chiefs tried in Week 18, which they won’t, they could go 16-1 and become the only team besides the 2007 Patriots to win 16 regular season games.

• The Ravens win and Steelers loss also is perfect for the Chiefs because now the Ravens will almost certainly play the Bills in the Divisional Round. The Chiefs get a bye, then an easy home game and only have to beat the winner of the Bills-Ravens war in Arrowhead to get to yet another Super Bowl.

• Josh Allen makes heroic plays every game, but Lamar Jackson makes it look easy. I like the Ravens to make it to Arrowhead for the AFC Title game, even though the game will be in Buffalo.

• Derrick Henry now has 1,783 yards with one game to go and is averaging 5.8 YPC on the year, a career high. No doubt Hall of Famer.

@ 16d11430:61640947

As digital systems and payment platforms scale to meet growing global demands, the underlying scalability issues pose severe challenges, especially for the IT workers tasked with managing and maintaining these systems. This exploration delves into the multifaceted dynamics of these challenges and their cascading human costs.

---

1. The Escalating Demand for Scalability

Unprecedented Growth in Digital Transactions

Digital payment systems like Brazil’s Pix and RTPS have seen exponential growth. For instance, Pix is projected to surpass credit card usage in Brazil by 2025.

Global real-time payment volumes are expected to grow by 28% CAGR annually, pushing existing infrastructure to its limits.

Implications for IT Workers

IT teams face mounting pressure to prevent outages, maintain uptime, and scale systems rapidly to avoid bottlenecks.

This leads to longer hours, reduced work-life balance, and chronic stress.

---

1. The Technical Debt Trap

Legacy Systems

Many payment systems still rely on legacy infrastructure that struggles to support modern demands.

Retrofitting these systems is costly and labor-intensive, falling disproportionately on IT workers.

Compounding Complexity

Every temporary fix adds technical debt, increasing the complexity of maintaining and scaling the system.

IT workers are caught in a cycle of “patch and pray,” with little time for proper upgrades or optimizations.

Human Cost

Constant firefighting leaves IT workers physically and emotionally drained, with increased risks of burnout and mental health issues.

---

1. The Always-On Work Culture

24/7 System Uptime

Payment systems are expected to operate without interruption, requiring IT teams to be on-call around the clock.

The "always-on" expectation exacerbates sleep deprivation and disrupts circadian rhythms.

Impact on Productivity

Sleep-deprived workers make more errors, leading to cascading failures that further strain systems and create additional work.

Health Implications

Chronic sleep deprivation is linked to long-term health problems, including cardiovascular diseases, depression, and anxiety.

---

1. The Leadership Vacuum

Poor Strategic Vision

Many organizations lack leaders capable of addressing scalability challenges proactively, leaving IT workers unsupported.

A 2023 Global Leadership Forecast revealed that only 40% of leaders believe their management skills are adequate, a steep decline from previous years.

Blame Culture

When systems fail, IT workers often bear the brunt of blame, even when failures are systemic rather than individual.

This creates a toxic work environment, further exacerbating stress and employee turnover.

---

1. Economic Pressures and Workforce Exploitation

Understaffed Teams

Many organizations prioritize cost-cutting, leaving IT teams understaffed and overworked.

Outsourcing to cheaper labor markets often results in poorly trained staff, increasing workloads for experienced workers.

Automation Pressures

Companies increasingly rely on automation to scale systems, yet IT workers are tasked with maintaining these automated solutions, which often fail under unforeseen circumstances.

The human workforce becomes a safety net for automated processes, intensifying their workload during critical failures.

---

1. Escalating Security Threats

Cyberattacks on Payment Systems

Scaling systems are prime targets for cybercriminals. For instance, DDoS attacks and ransomware are increasing in frequency.

IT workers must constantly defend against these threats while maintaining system performance.

Emotional and Professional Toll

The constant threat of breaches creates a high-pressure environment where mistakes can have catastrophic consequences, impacting workers’ confidence and job security.

---

1. The Psychological Toll of Perpetual Scaling

Unrealistic Expectations

Management often sets unattainable goals for system scalability without understanding the technical or human constraints.

Workers are caught in a cycle of failure, feeling inadequate despite their best efforts.

Burnout and Attrition

A study by the American Psychological Association shows that chronic workplace stress increases employee turnover, with tech roles experiencing a 30% higher burnout rate compared to other industries.

This not only affects current workers but also leads to a talent drain, making scalability even harder to achieve.

---

1. Generational Impact

Mentorship Deficit

Experienced IT workers leaving due to burnout create a vacuum, leaving younger generations without guidance.

The knowledge gap exacerbates system failures, perpetuating the scalability crisis.

Reduced Innovation

Overburdened workers have less time and energy for innovation, stalling technological progress and leaving future generations to deal with outdated, crumbling infrastructure.

---

Solutions to Mitigate the Human Cost

1. Invest in Scalability-First Infrastructure

Organizations must prioritize scalable architectures, such as cloud-native solutions, to reduce the human workload.

1. Support IT Workers

Provide mental health resources, fair compensation, and reasonable workloads to prevent burnout.

1. Address Leadership Deficits

Train leaders to understand the technical and human aspects of scalability challenges.

1. Automate Responsibly

Use automation to complement, not replace, human expertise, and invest in training workers to manage automated systems effectively.

1. Build Resilience

Develop robust incident response protocols and cross-train teams to handle failures collaboratively.

---

Conclusion

The scalability crisis in digital systems is not just a technical challenge—it’s a human one. Without significant structural changes, IT workers will face an unbearable stranglehold, leading to widespread burnout, attrition, and long-term generational consequences. Addressing this crisis requires immediate action from organizations to prioritize both technological and human scalability, ensuring a sustainable future for workers and systems alike.

@ 16d11430:61640947

The technology sector is currently grappling with a pervasive yet often overlooked issue: dopamine dysregulation among its workforce. This neurochemical imbalance, exacerbated by the industry's high-paced environment and constant digital engagement, is leading to significant declines in employee well-being and productivity. Compounding this problem is a notable deterioration in leadership quality, which threatens to inflict lasting damage on both the current workforce and future generations.

Dopamine Dysregulation in Tech Workers

Dopamine, a neurotransmitter integral to reward processing and motivation, is susceptible to dysregulation through chronic stress and overstimulation—conditions prevalent in the tech industry. A recent study highlights that chronic stress can alter dopamine receptor density and sensitivity, making it increasingly challenging to achieve the same level of reward and exacerbating feelings of frustration and demotivation.

The tech industry's relentless pace, characterized by tight deadlines and continuous digital interaction, fosters an environment ripe for such dysregulation. The constant influx of notifications and the pressure to multitask can lead to a state of perpetual overstimulation, disrupting natural dopamine cycles and diminishing the brain's ability to derive pleasure from offline activities.

Lack of Institutional Insight

Despite the growing prevalence of dopamine-related burnout, there is a conspicuous absence of institutional acknowledgment and intervention. Many organizations remain oblivious to the neurochemical underpinnings of employee burnout, often attributing declines in productivity to personal shortcomings rather than systemic issues. This oversight results in inadequate support structures and a failure to implement necessary changes to mitigate stressors inherent in the tech work environment.

Decline in Leadership Quality

Exacerbating the situation is a marked decline in leadership quality within the tech sector. The 2023 Global Leadership Forecast reports that only 40% of leaders believe their companies have high-quality leadership—a 17% drop from two years prior and the most significant decline in a decade.

This leadership deficit manifests in several ways:

Inadequate Support for Employee Well-being: Leaders are failing to recognize and address the neurobiological aspects of employee burnout, resulting in insufficient mental health support and wellness initiatives.

Poor Change Management: The rapid evolution of technology necessitates agile leadership. However, many leaders lack the skills to manage change effectively, leading to organizational instability and increased employee stress.

Erosion of Trust: Inconsistent communication and a lack of transparency from leadership erode employee trust, further contributing to workplace stress and dissatisfaction.

Risks of Long-term Generational Effects

The convergence of dopamine dysregulation and declining leadership quality poses significant risks for long-term generational effects:

Sustained Mental Health Issues: Without intervention, current employees may suffer prolonged mental health challenges, including chronic burnout and depression, which can extend into future generations through learned behaviors and coping mechanisms.

Diminished Innovation: A workforce plagued by motivation deficits and led by ineffective leaders is less likely to produce innovative solutions, potentially stymieing technological progress for years to come.

Workforce Attrition: The tech industry may experience a talent drain as individuals seek healthier work environments, leading to a loss of experienced professionals and a gap in mentorship for emerging talent.

Conclusion

The silent pandemic of dopamine dysregulation among tech workers, compounded by a decline in leadership quality, demands immediate attention. Institutions must develop a deeper understanding of the neurobiological factors contributing to employee burnout and implement comprehensive strategies to address them. Simultaneously, a reinvigoration of leadership development programs is essential to equip leaders with the skills necessary to navigate the complexities of the modern tech landscape. Failure to act may result in enduring detriments to both the current workforce and future generations.

@ 42342239:1d80db24

The EU's economy is facing a number of challenges, from high energy costs to low productivity. But behind the official rhetoric lies an assumption that is rarely questioned: that the green transition will automatically lead to economic growth and increased prosperity. But is this really true?

In Germany, which is once again forced to bear the label "Europe's sick man", Chancellor Olaf Scholz is struggling with alarmingly low confidence figures ahead of the election in February. But perhaps this is not so surprising. German industrial production has been trending downward since the green agenda became fashionable. Energy-intensive production has decreased by a full 20% in just a few years. Volkswagen is closing factories, Thyssenkrupp is massively laying off employees, and more than three million pensioners are at risk of poverty.

If this is Europe's "man on the moon" moment, as EU Commissioner von der Leyen expressed it in 2019, then it's not much to brag about. At least, not if you're not a sadist.

The former ECB chief Mario Draghi's report on the EU's competitiveness has been discussed previously in Affärsvärlden, among other things by the author and by Christian Sandström. One of the problems pointed out was that European companies have significantly higher energy costs than their American competitors, with electricity prices 2-3 times higher and natural gas prices 4-5 times higher.

Germany is perhaps worst off, thanks in part to former Chancellor Angela Merkel's decision to completely phase out nuclear power (a decision that not only lacked popular support but which she also refuses to acknowledge as a mistake). The sabotage of Nord Stream made the situation worse.

Without Real Capital, No Economic Prosperity

Germany's phasing out of nuclear power plants is an example of how political decisions have contributed to reducing the economy's capacity. The same applies to the sabotage of Nord Stream. Real capital, such as buildings, machinery, and equipment, is crucial for the economy's productivity (e.g., measures such as GDP per hour worked). A larger and more efficient capital stock enables the production of more goods and services with the same amount of labor, leading to greater production, higher wages, and increased material prosperity. This is basic economics. On the other hand, when real capital is declared obsolete due to political decisions, as in the case of the shutdown of nuclear power, it reduces the economy's capacity. The same applies when real capital is destroyed, as was the case with Nord Stream.

More Working Real Capital Will Be Put on the Back Burner

EU Commissioner von der Leyen promises improvement. She seems convinced that the EU's decline can be reversed by tripling down on the bloc's green goals, and listed decarbonization as one of three key pillars in a new "Competitiveness Compass". When reality does not live up to expectations, you can always press "Ctrl+Alt+Slogan" and hope that no one notices that nothing has improved.

However, her plans mean that existing and currently functioning real capital will be written off to an even greater extent in the future. This can be compared to a nation that gradually expands its nature reserves year after year. As it happens, this is also taking place. The Kunming-Montreal framework for biodiversity means that 30% of all areas, on land and at sea, must be protected by 2030. A country that currently conserves less than that must therefore identify additional areas that can be protected. The process of protecting 30% of all areas will likely reduce the economy's productive potential. With shrinking fields, there will be fewer carrots (unless significant technological progress is made).

Security Policy and Preparedness Consequences

On the current path, more real capital will be put on the back burner, which can have far-reaching consequences, not least for our security policy. For example, if Russia can produce artillery shells about three times faster, at a cost that is roughly a quarter of what it costs Ukraine's Western allies, then it's clear that this has security policy consequences. Similarly, if electricity prices in Germany are five times higher than in China, which is currently the case, then this will also have negative security policy consequences. Compared to the EU, China actually has a higher carbon dioxide emission level per capita, with a difference of about 50% according to available data. Adjusted for international trade, China emits 10% more than Sweden per capita.

A preparedness perspective can also be found. In the early 1990s, Swedish farmers produced nearly 75% of the country's food. Today, Sweden's population has increased significantly, but food production has not kept pace. Every other bite is imported today. In Sweden, we can even boast that we cannot even provide for ourselves with the simplest of crops - potatoes. Can we really be sure that significantly expanded nature reserves, as prescribed by the Kunming-Montreal framework for Sweden, will not further deteriorate our food preparedness?

Reminds One of Little Gnomes

I am reminded of an episode from the 90s TV series South Park, where little gnomes collect underpants. When asked about their plan, they described their method:

1. collect underpants
2. ???
3. profit!

Translated to the green transition (the German Energiewende):

1. destroy real capital and conserve land and sea
2. ???
3. economic prosperity!

What Can the EU Really Afford?

Economics is fundamentally about managing scarce resources, which many people seem to have forgotten. It's high time to question what the EU can really afford. Can we really afford to arm ourselves for war against Russia, China, and Iran while at the same time tying our own hands with green promises of reduced carbon dioxide emissions and increased biodiversity? This in a situation where the next US administration is likely to invest heavily in increasing its competitive advantages through deregulation, lower energy prices, tax cuts, and a withdrawal from the Paris Agreement?

When von der Leyen was responsible for the German military, the situation became "catastrophic". All six of the country's submarines were out of commission. At times, not a single one of the country's 14 transport aircraft could fly. German soldiers had to use broomsticks instead of guns during exercises.

Hopefully, von der Leyen will show more success in her handling of the EU's economy, defense, and preparedness than she has shown in her role as German Defense Minister. However, it may also be time for more people to challenge the prevailing narratives that shape our policies. What if the facts don't quite add up to the truth we're being told?

@ 8eabf864:d2ed9af6

Opinion about Tangem - Crypto wallet (iphone)

Thank you for your hard work. The iOS version seems to be compilable, although the official has not responded yet.

https://www.reddit.com/r/Tangem/s/le3YBkTwPm

WalletScrutiny #nostrOpinion

Join the conversation!

@ a012dc82:6458a70d

Table Of Content

• TwelveFold: A Fusion of Art and Blockchain

• The Cipher Puzzle Series: A Test of Wit

• The Mechanics: How to Participate

• Competition Rules and Details

• Conclusions

• FAQ

The Bored Ape Yacht Club, a name that resonates deeply within the NFT community, is expanding its horizons. Venturing beyond their typical domain, they have introduced a captivating puzzle-solving competition. This isn't just any competition; it's an opportunity for enthusiasts to engage, challenge their intellect, and stand a chance to win Bitcoin rewards, merging the worlds of crypto and gaming in an exciting new way.

TwelveFold: A Fusion of Art and Blockchain

Behind the Bored Ape Yacht Club is Yuga Labs, an innovative creator that never ceases to surprise. Their latest creation, the TwelveFold collection, is a series of 300 generative art pieces. But what sets TwelveFold apart is its foundation on the Ordinals protocol. This groundbreaking protocol allows for the "inscription" of NFT-like artwork directly onto the immutable Bitcoin blockchain. The TwelveFold collection isn't just about art; it's a representation of the intricate dance between time, mathematics, and variability, offering a fresh perspective on the convergence of art and technology.

The Cipher Puzzle Series: A Test of Wit

Inspired by the Bitcoin-centric artwork, Yuga Labs has unveiled a cipher puzzle series that beckons participants from all corners. These aren't your everyday puzzles; they are intricately designed challenges that reflect the core essence and philosophy behind the TwelveFold collection. Every puzzle solved brings participants closer to Bitcoin rewards, making the challenge not just a test of wit but also a potential gateway to crypto riches.

The Mechanics: How to Participate

For 12 consecutive weeks, Yuga Labs will roll out a new "Moon Puzzle". These puzzles, shrouded in mystery and allure, promise a reward of 0.12 Bitcoin for the first solver. But the climax arrives in the 13th week. Instead of another Moon Puzzle, participants are presented with the "Sun Puzzle". The stakes are higher, with the winner being bestowed with one of the coveted TwelveFold Ordinals. These unique art pieces, which are making waves in the Magic Eden secondary marketplace, have a starting price tag of approximately 0.9 BTC.

Participation is open to all, irrespective of whether you own a TwelveFold asset. However, a subtle hint from Yuga Labs suggests that asset owners might be in for an exclusive treat.

To dive into this challenge, one needs an Ordinals Bitcoin wallet, options include Xverse or Unisat. The process is straightforward: visit the TwelveFold website, pick a puzzle, and let your mind wander into the realms of creativity and logic. Once you believe you've cracked the code, the answer is inscribed on-chain using satoshis, etching its presence forever on the Bitcoin blockchain.

Competition Rules and Details

Every puzzle has room for just one victor. In scenarios where multiple participants arrive at the correct solution simultaneously, the tie-breaker is the inscription number, with preference given to the lower number. Winning isn't just about solving the puzzle; winners must also navigate the formalities, which include filling out requisite tax forms to lay claim to their Bitcoin bounty.

Conclusion

Yuga Labs' TwelveFold challenge is more than just a competition; it's a celebration of art, blockchain, and the spirit of competition. As the crypto community watches with bated breath, participants from across the globe are delving deep into the puzzles, each hoping to emerge as the next Bitcoin victor. With the inaugural puzzle already deciphered, the gauntlet has been thrown. The question remains: are you ready to take on the TwelveFold challenge?

FAQ

What is the TwelveFold Challenge? It's a puzzle-solving competition by Yuga Labs, offering participants a chance to win Bitcoin rewards.

How long does the challenge last? The challenge spans 13 weeks, with a new puzzle released each week.

What are the rewards for solving the puzzles? For the first 12 weeks, winners receive 0.12 Bitcoin. In the 13th week, the prize is one of the TwelveFold Ordinals.

Do I need to own a TwelveFold asset to participate? No, the challenge is open to everyone. However, TwelveFold asset owners might receive special perks.

How do I submit my puzzle answers? Answers are inscribed on-chain via satoshis using an Ordinals Bitcoin wallet.

That's all for today

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DISCLAIMER: None of this is financial advice. This newsletter is strictly educational and is not investment advice or a solicitation to buy or sell any assets or to make any financial decisions. Please be careful and do your own research.

@ 6e468422:15deee93

We didn't hear them land on earth, nor did we see them. The spores were not visible to the naked eye. Like dust particles, they softly fell, unhindered, through our atmosphere, covering the earth. It took us a while to realize that something extraordinary was happening on our planet. In most places, the mushrooms didn't grow at all. The conditions weren't right. In some places—mostly rocky places—they grew large enough to be noticeable. People all over the world posted pictures online. "White eggs," they called them. It took a bit until botanists and mycologists took note. Most didn't realize that we were dealing with a species unknown to us.

We aren't sure who sent them. We aren't even sure if there is a "who" behind the spores. But once the first portals opened up, we learned that these mushrooms aren't just a quirk of biology. The portals were small at first—minuscule, even. Like a pinhole camera, we were able to glimpse through, but we couldn't make out much. We were only able to see colors and textures if the conditions were right. We weren't sure what we were looking at.

We still don't understand why some mushrooms open up, and some don't. Most don't. What we do know is that they like colder climates and high elevations. What we also know is that the portals don't stay open for long. Like all mushrooms, the flush only lasts for a week or two. When a portal opens, it looks like the mushroom is eating a hole into itself at first. But the hole grows, and what starts as a shimmer behind a grey film turns into a clear picture as the egg ripens. When conditions are right, portals will remain stable for up to three days. Once the fruit withers, the portal closes, and the mushroom decays.

The eggs grew bigger year over year. And with it, the portals. Soon enough, the portals were big enough to stick your finger through. And that's when things started to get weird...

@ 16d11430:61640947

While Europeans were sealing agreements and greetings with handshakes, civilizations in the Indian subcontinent and Asia were elevating hand gestures to an intricate art form and spiritual practice. Hand mudras, meaning "seals" or "gestures" in Sanskrit, have long been a profound expression of the connection between the body, mind, and spirit. From the precision of classical Indian dance to the meditative stillness of yogic practices, mudras symbolize the articulation of human dexterity and the channeling of energy through the hands.

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The Origins of Mudras: A Historical Perspective

Mudras trace their origins to the ancient spiritual practices of the Indian subcontinent, dating back to the Vedic period (1500–500 BCE). Initially described in the sacred texts of the Vedas and later elaborated in Tantric and Buddhist traditions, mudras became integral to rituals, meditation, and artistic expression.

1. Vedic Rituals and Spiritual Energy

In Vedic rituals, priests used specific hand gestures to invoke divine forces, seal intentions, and direct spiritual energy. These gestures were seen as a bridge between the human and the divine, a symbolic language that conveyed unspoken truths. (The Vedas: An Anthology by Wendy Doniger)

1. Buddhist Influence Across Asia

As Buddhism spread from India to regions like Tibet, China, Japan, and Southeast Asia, mudras became central to meditation and iconography. The Dhyana Mudra (gesture of meditation) and the Vitarka Mudra (gesture of teaching) are prominently depicted in statues of the Buddha, symbolizing states of inner peace and wisdom. (Mudras in Buddhist Art by Frederick Asher)

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Mudras in Classical Dance: The Pinnacle of Dexterity

The Indian classical dance forms—Bharatanatyam, Kathak, Odissi, and others—perfected the articulation of the hands through hasta mudras (hand gestures). These gestures, cataloged in texts like the Natya Shastra (200 BCE–200 CE), serve as a sophisticated language to narrate stories, express emotions, and symbolize universal truths. (The Natya Shastra: A Treatise on Dance and Drama by Manomohan Ghosh)

1. Complexity and Precision

Each dance form requires the performer to master dozens of mudras, which involve precise positioning of the fingers and palms. For example:

The Pataka Mudra (flat hand) symbolizes a flag, and its variations convey wind, rivers, or blessings.

The Hamsasya Mudra (swan’s beak) represents delicacy, often used to signify picking a flower or holding a jewel.

1. Embodiment of Dexterity

These gestures demand exceptional finger dexterity and neuromuscular control, training the brain to enhance focus, coordination, and memory. The dancer's hands become extensions of their soul, weaving stories that transcend spoken language. (Dance in India: The Art of Precision and Emotion by Kapila Vatsyayan)

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Mudras in Yoga and Meditation: A Gateway to Inner Activation

Beyond dance, mudras are integral to yoga and meditation, believed to direct prana (life energy) within the body. By forming specific gestures with the hands, practitioners stimulate energy pathways, harmonize the mind, and deepen meditation.

1. Therapeutic Benefits

The Gyan Mudra (gesture of knowledge), with the thumb and index finger touching, is said to enhance concentration and calm the mind. (The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali by Swami Satchidananda)

The Prana Mudra (gesture of life) energizes the body by activating dormant energy reserves.

1. Holistic Activation

Mudras work on the principles of Ayurveda, the ancient Indian science of health, balancing the five elements within the body—earth, water, fire, air, and ether. The hands become a microcosm of the body, with each finger representing a specific element. (Ayurveda: The Science of Self-Healing by Vasant Lad)

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Beyond India: Hand Forms in Asian Arts

The influence of Indian mudras extended to Asian art forms, including Japanese mudrā in martial arts and Chinese qigong practices. In Southeast Asia, classical dance forms like Balinese and Khmer dance incorporate mudras as an essential element, showcasing the dexterity of the human hand in storytelling and spiritual expression.

1. Tibetan and Japanese Rituals

In Tibetan Buddhism, vajra mudras are used in esoteric rituals to symbolize cosmic forces. Similarly, in Japanese shingon practices, mudras accompany mantras to invoke specific deities. (Tibetan Ritual Practices by John Powers)

1. Visual Perfection

Southeast Asian sculptures, such as those in Angkor Wat, depict deities with elaborate hand gestures, representing divine attributes and cosmic harmony. (Art and Architecture of Southeast Asia by Peter D. Sharrock)

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The Profound Significance of Mudras

Mudras are far more than physical gestures; they are a language of the body that communicates with the universe. They unite art, spirituality, and science, demonstrating how hand dexterity can be a profound expression of human potential.

In the modern era, mudras remain relevant as tools for holistic health and mindfulness. Their ancient legacy reminds us of the extraordinary capabilities of the human hand—not just as a tool for grasping but as a bridge between the physical and the metaphysical.

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Key Takeaway: While the handshake reflects strength and intent in the West, the mudra exemplifies the ultimate articulation of human dexterity and spirituality in the East. Through dance, yoga, and meditation, these gestures symbolize the profound connection between the body, mind, and cosmos, showcasing the timeless beauty of the human hand.

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References:

1. Doniger, Wendy. The Vedas: An Anthology.

2. Asher, Frederick. Mudras in Buddhist Art.

3. Ghosh, Manomohan. The Natya Shastra: A Treatise on Dance and Drama.

4. Vatsyayan, Kapila. Dance in India: The Art of Precision and Emotion.

5. Satchidananda, Swami. The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali.

6. Lad, Vasant. Ayurveda: The Science of Self-Healing.

7. Powers, John. Tibetan Ritual Practices.

8. Sharrock, Peter D. Art and Architecture of Southeast Asia.

@ 6ad3e2a3:c90b7740

This event has been deleted; your client is ignoring the delete request.

@ 16d11430:61640947

Grip strength and finger dexterity are uniquely tied to human neuromuscular wellbeing. These attributes go beyond their apparent utility, delving into evolutionary, physiological, and cultural dimensions. They not only signify physical health but also embody symbolic gestures like handshaking, reflecting capacity, intent, and mutual understanding in human interactions.

Neuromuscular Wellbeing: The Foundation of Grip Strength and Dexterity

1. Grip Strength: A Biomarker of Overall Health

Grip strength serves as a reliable biomarker for neuromuscular health. Studies have demonstrated its predictive value for outcomes like cardiovascular health, cognitive function, and longevity. Grip strength reflects the integrated function of muscles, nerves, and connective tissues, making it an ideal measure of overall physical resilience.

Physiological Insights: Strong grip strength is associated with robust neuromuscular function. This involves the coordination of motor neurons and muscle fibers, indicating an individual's capacity to perform complex tasks. Grip strength also correlates with brain health, as neural efficiency influences fine motor skills and physical force generation.

Preventative Indicator: Declines in grip strength can signal neuromuscular or systemic health issues, such as neurodegenerative diseases, making it a critical diagnostic tool.

1. Finger Dexterity: Precision in Action

Finger dexterity, encompassing coordination, fine motor skills, and adaptability, highlights the intricate control of hand muscles. This ability is crucial for various tasks, from typing to playing musical instruments, underscoring its link to neuromuscular health.

Cognitive Connection: Dexterity tasks stimulate brain regions responsible for planning and executing movement. Regular practice can enhance neuroplasticity, improving both motor and cognitive functions.

Rehabilitation Applications: Finger dexterity exercises are integral in neuro-rehabilitation, aiding recovery from strokes, injuries, or neurological disorders.

The Cultural Legacy of Handshaking: A Symbol of Grip Strength and Intent

Handshaking, though becoming an archaic relic in some cultures, remains a fascinating lens through which grip strength’s symbolic significance can be viewed.

1. Historical and Cultural Roots

The handshake, dating back to ancient times, originally served as a gesture of trust. A firm handshake was a non-verbal way of communicating strength, intent, and mutual respect. Anthropological evidence links it to the need for physical signals of peace and camaraderie in negotiations or greetings.

1. Strength and Intent in the Handshake

Grip Strength as a Measure: A firm handshake historically conveyed physical capability and confidence. Weak handshakes often carried connotations of poor health or dishonesty, though these interpretations are culturally relative.

Intent and Transparency: The act involved direct physical contact, symbolizing openness and the absence of concealed weapons, reinforcing its role as a non-verbal declaration of peace and trust.

Archaic but Relevant: Why Grip Still Matters

In an era where handshaking is less common, the underlying principles of grip strength and neuromuscular health remain profoundly relevant. Even as the handshake fades, its symbolic role persists in different forms, like the pressure and control exhibited in sports or tactile professions.

Bridging Neuromuscular Wellbeing and Cultural Practices

By understanding the deep connection between physical grip and broader health, we gain insights into human evolution and societal interactions. Grip strength and finger dexterity are far more than isolated physical traits; they are essential indicators of our holistic health and functional capacity.

Handshakes may be vanishing, but their essence—a quick, tangible measure of strength, confidence, and intent—remains a testament to the interconnectedness of our physical and social existence.

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References:

1. Dodds, R., et al. (2014). Grip strength across the life course: normative data from twelve British studies. PLoS ONE.

2. Bohannon, R. W. (2019). Grip strength: an indispensable biomarker for older adults. Clinical Interventions in Aging.

3. Stewart, L. (2020). The history and significance of handshaking. Cultural Anthropology Journal.

4. Bechtold, M., et al. (2016). Finger dexterity as an indicator of cognitive function. Journal of Neurology and Rehabilitation.

@ 330516bf:ea23d292

The self-declaration of identity is a philosophical open source project, hosted at https://memdeklaro.github.io/

Foreword

ID documents do more harm than good and should not be seen as a solution for trust or authentication. Many economic and social interactions can be done anonymously. For other situations, trust can be achieved by simply saying your (self-chosen) name, using a web-of-trust, word-of-mouth reputation, vouches, memberships, escrows or cash deposits, and authentication can be achieved by using a password, cryptographic key pair (e.g. PGP, Monero) or physical key or code (such as house keys or a safe code).

Background

In recent years, more and more things are asking for proof of identity, from basic necessities like jobs, housing and healthcare, to smaller things like receiving mail, buying a sim card or joining a gym. However, it is not enough to write your name and address on a form. Instead, only government-issued IDs are accepted, which gives the state a “monopoly on identity”.

Monopolies are dangerous in general due to the fact that if the service provider is harmful, inaccessible or otherwise problematic, you cannot choose a different provider, start your own provider, or go without. This particular monopoly is even worse, considering that access to government ID determines if you may participate in the economy (jobs, banking), society (housing, volunteer work, education, libraries, sports) or even exist (national borders).

Many people have no access to government ID. This group includes some stateless people, refugees, people who weren’t registered at birth, and people who escaped from child abuse, domestic abuse or cult abuse. The state’s claimed solutions, such as asylum procedures, stateless determination procedures, delayed registration of birth, child protective services and witness protection, often cannot help in practice, as the victim is often ignored, accused of lying, blamed for the persecution, or worse sent back to the persecutors against their will. Despite issuing laissez-passer and Nansen passports in the past, the United Nations and Red Cross do not issue alternative IDs today. It would be a relief if these processes would work and allow vulnerable people to escape from undeserved and dangerous situations, but unfortunately this is not the reality.

In addition, the collectivist concept of citizenship can be dangerous. For example, if someone does not identify with their birth culture, they should not be forced to follow it for life or identify themselves as a member of this culture. Instead, they should be free to dissent against this culture or leave this culture’s jurisdiction. Even worse is conscription — the cruel system where a nation-state can force someone against their will to kill or be killed, just because they happened to be born inside a certain territory. The world would be more free if people could exist as individuals, conscientious objectors against the fatalism of birth cultures and violence of statism, with freedom of association to leave hostile environments and join self-chosen communities.

“The blood of the covenant is thicker than the water of the womb.”

Self-declaration of identity gives people the power to decide their own fate. People are no longer the property of nations, governments, birth cultures or birth parents. The choice of your own name and renunciation of your circumstances of birth is a liberating act of individualism, where your ideals, actions and efforts matter more than the situation that you were arbitrarily born into.

Self-declaration of identity

Instead of requiring third parties such as birth countries, birth cultures and birth parents to define an individual’s identity, the self-declaration allows you to define your own name and eschews the concepts of birth countries and citizenship.

The self-declaration is a CR-80 plastic card or paper business card (85.6mm x 54mm). The self-declaration is written in Esperanto and includes the Esperanto flag and symbol. Esperanto was chosen because it is anational (sennacieca = not associated with a specific country, culture or state) and was created as a borderless language of peace, built on voluntary free association. The design features artwork of a peace dove in a blue sky with clouds.

As it is a self-declaration, it is not stored in a central database, does not require a third party’s permission and does not need to be issued by an authority. You are the authority over your own life.

The self-declaration includes the text:

• Title: Self-declaration of identity (Memdeklaro de identeco)
• Location: Esperanto community (Esperantujo)
• Issuer: EPO (ISO code for Esperanto)
• Quote: One world, one humankind (Unu mondo, unu homaro)

The self-declaration of identity contains:

• Self-chosen first name (Antaŭnomo) and self-chosen surname (Nomo) → an individual should be able to freely choose their own name
• Birth date (Naskiĝdato) → for declaration of age
• Photo → Dimensions 35mm x 45mm
• Signature (Subskribo) → sign your self-declaration
• Notes field (Notoj) → a place to write a note, e.g. “the holder is a conscientious objector” (Portanto estas konscienca obĵetanto)
• ID number (Numero), issuance date (Eldondato), expiry date (Limdato), issuer (Eldonisto), MRZ → bureaucratic boilerplate

The self-declaration of identity does not contain:

• Place of birth → allows people to cut ties with hostile environments and self-define their culture, beliefs and personal ties
• Citizenship or stateless status → allows people to cut ties with hostile governments or cultures, and exist as an individual instead of as property of a state that they did not choose
• Parents’ names → allows victims of child abuse to cut ties with abusers

To make your own:

• Use the generator at https://memdeklaro.github.io/ or download the repo (https://github.com/memdeklaro/memdeklaro.github.io/) and open index.html in your browser
• Alternatively download the front template (fronto.jpg) and back template (dorso.jpg) from the linked repo, and use an image editor such as GIMP to add your text (the font OCR-B.ttf is provided) and your photo and signature
• Calculate the MRZ code here (TD1): https://www.dynamsoft.com/tools/mrz-generator/ (Choose any country, then replace it with EPO)
• Print it out as a business card and optionally laminate (dimensions: 85.6mm x 54mm) or order a CR-80 plastic card from a printing service

Example:

Note:

Unfortunately the self-declaration of identity cannot be used to bypass government ID requirements, such as for jobs, housing, healthcare, finances, volunteer work, contracts, receiving mail or buying a sim card. Other non-government IDs such as Digitalcourage Lichtbildausweis (https://shop.digitalcourage.de/gadgets/lichtbildausweis-mit-selbst-waehlbaren-daten.html) and World Passport (https://worldcitizengov.org/what-is-the-world-passport/) have the same limitations.

Nation-states’ refusal to print IDs for undocumented, stateless and unregistered people (while forcing government ID requirements on employers, landlords, doctors and more) can and does put innocent people’s lives in danger. But unfortunately even the United Nations has not been able to change this, despite issuing conventions on statelessness and refugee status in the 1950s.

Further Reading

For further reading about identity (and why the state’s monopoly is harmful):

Passports Were a “Temporary” War Measure — Speranta Dumitru https://fee.org/articles/passports-were-a-temporary-war-measure

During World War II, we did have something to hide — Hans de Zwart https://medium.com/@hansdezwart/during-world-war-ii-we-did-have-something-to-hide-40689565c550

The Little-Known Passport That Protected 450,000 Refugees — Cara Giaimo https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/nansen-passport-refugees

With each person left living on the streets, we are losing as a society — Petr Baroch https://www.statelessness.eu/blog/each-person-left-living-streets-we-are-losing-society

The rarely discussed dangers of KYC and what you can do about it — Anarkio https://vonupodcast.com/know-your-customer-kyc-the-rarely-discussed-danger-guest-article-audio

Exclusion and identity: life without ID — Privacy International https://www.privacyinternational.org/long-read/2544/exclusion-and-identity-life-without-id

Proving who I am: the plight of people in detention without proof of legal identity — Vicki Prais https://www.penalreform.org/blog/proving-who-i-am-the-plight-of-people/

Establishing identity is a vital, risky and changing business — The Economist https://www.economist.com/christmas-specials/2018/12/18/establishing-identity-is-a-vital-risky-and-changing-business

What’s in a name? The case for inclusivity through anonymity — Common Thread https://blog.twitter.com/common-thread/en/topics/stories/2021/whats-in-a-name-the-case-for-inclusivity-through-anonymity

True Names Not Required: On Identity and Pseudonymity in Cyberspace — Der Gigi https://dergigi.medium.com/true-names-not-required-fc6647dfe24a

Citizenship is obsolete — Samuela Davidova https://medium.com/@DavidovaSamuela/citizenship-is-obsolete-c36a20056752

License

Public Domain

Source code: https://github.com/memdeklaro/memdeklaro.github.io

Infographic

Translations

(Machine translated)\ Memdeklaro de identenco: self declaration of identity, autodeclaración de identidad, autodeclaração de identidade, autodéclaration d’identité, autodichiarazione di identità, autodeclararea identității, Selbsterklärung zur Identität, eigen verklaring van identiteit, Selvdeklaration af identitet, självdeklaration av identitet, egenerklæring om identitet, henkilöllisyysvakuutus, Isikuandmete esitamine, identitātes pašdeklarēšana, savęs deklaravimas, önbevallás a személyazonosságról, własna deklaracja tożsamości, vlastní prohlášení o totožnosti, vlastné vyhlásenie o totožnosti, samoprijava identitete, самодеклариране на самоличността, самопроголошення ідентичності, самозаявление о личности, αυτο-δήλωση ταυτότητας, pernyataan identitas diri, öz kimlik beyanı, الإعلان الذاتي عن الهوية, 身份自报, 身份自報, 自己申告, 신원 자기 선언

...

@ 42342239:1d80db24

Im Frühjahr kündigte EU-Kommissarin Ursula von der Leyen an, sie wolle einen „ Europäischen Demokratieschild " schaffen, um die EU vor ausländischer Einflussnahme zu schützen. Von der Leyens Demokratieschild befindet sich derzeit in der Planungsphase. Die erklärte Absicht besteht darin, eine „ spezielle Struktur zur Bekämpfung ausländischer Informationsmanipulation und -einmischung" zu schaffen. Obwohl es als Instrument zum Schutz der Demokratie angepriesen wird, vermuten einige, dass es sich in Wirklichkeit um einen verschleierten Versuch handelt, abweichende Meinungen zu unterdrücken. Der im vergangenen Jahr verabschiedete Digital Services Act (DSA) der EU ist eng mit diesem Schild verbunden. Durch den DSA riskieren große Social-Media-Plattformen wie Elon Musks X erhebliche Geldstrafen, wenn sie den Forderungen der EU-Bürokraten nach Zensur und Moderation nicht nachkommen.

Note: This text is also available in English at substack.com. Many thanks to stroger1@iris.to for this German translation.

Im krassen Gegensatz dazu hat sich der künftige US-Präsident Donald Trump als klarer Befürworter der Meinungsfreiheit und entschiedener Gegner der Zensur hervorgetan. Er wurde bereits von YouTube gesperrt, hat jedoch erklärt, er wolle „das linke Zensurregime zerschlagen und das Recht auf freie Meinungsäußerung für alle Amerikaner zurückfordern" . Er hat auch behauptet: „Wenn wir keine freie Meinungsäußerung haben, dann haben wir einfach kein freies Land."

Sein künftiger Vizepräsident J.D. Vance hat sogar angedeutet, dass er bereit sei, US-Militärhilfe von der Achtung der Meinungsfreiheit in den europäischen NATO-Ländern abhängig zu machen. Vances Aussage erfolgte, nachdem EU-Binnenmarktkommissar Thierry Breton vor seinem geplanten Gespräch mit Trump einen umstrittenen Brief an Musk geschickt hatte. Heute erscheint dies als unkluger Schritt, nicht zuletzt, weil er als Versuch gewertet werden kann, die US-Wahl zu beeinflussen -- etwas, das paradoxerweise dem erklärten Zweck von von der Leyens Demokratieschild (d. h. ausländische Manipulationen zu bekämpfen) widerspricht.

Wenn die NATO möchte, dass wir sie weiterhin unterstützen, und die NATO möchte, dass wir weiterhin ein gutes Mitglied dieses Militärbündnisses sind, warum respektieren Sie dann nicht die amerikanischen Werte und die freie Meinungsäußerung?

- J.D. Vance

In der EU sind Verfechter der Meinungsfreiheit in der Öffentlichkeit weniger verbreitet. In Deutschland hat Vizekanzler Robert Habeck kürzlich erklärt, er sei „überhaupt nicht glücklich darüber, was dort [auf X] passiert ... seit Elon Musk das Amt übernommen hat", und wünscht sich eine strengere Regulierung der sozialen Medien. Die Wohnung eines deutschen Rentners wurde kürzlich von der Polizei durchsucht, nachdem er ein Bild von Habeck mit einem abfälligen Kommentar veröffentlicht hatte . Die deutsche Polizei verfolgt auch einen anderen Kontoinhaber, der einen Minister als „übergewichtig" bezeichnet hat. Dieser überhaupt nicht übergewichtige Minister hat kürzlich eine Zeitung verboten , die mit der laut Meinungsumfragen zweitgrößten Partei Deutschlands, der Alternative für Deutschland (AfD), verbündet ist. Eine Partei, die 113 deutsche Parlamentarier nun offiziell verbieten wollen .

Nach dem US-Wahlergebnis stellen sich viele unbeantwortete Fragen. Wird das Weiße Haus seine Aufmerksamkeit auf die restriktivere Haltung der EU richten, die als Untergrabung der freien Meinungsäußerung angesehen werden kann? Oder droht Musks X und Chinas TikTok stattdessen ein EU-Verbot? Können EU-Länder noch mit militärischer Unterstützung aus den USA rechnen? Und wenn große amerikanische Plattformen verboten werden, wohin sollten sich die EU-Bürger stattdessen wenden? Abgesehen von russischen Alternativen gibt es keine großen europäischen Plattformen. Und wenn die Frage der Meinungsfreiheit neu überdacht wird, was bedeutet das für die Zukunft von Parteien wie der deutschen AfD?

@ 5ee71c0a:b0506ae6

Hey, anyone who reads this—thanks for keeping me (somewhat) accountable.

I’m not big on formal New Year’s resolutions, but I do like to review the past year to see where I’ve done well, where I’m lacking, and what new habits I can form in 2025.

Wait, isn’t that a resolution? Anyway.

One thing that’s always been important to me is freedom of speech. I plan to keep using X/Twitter—yes, it has shortcomings, but so does every platform. None will ever be perfect for everyone.

That said, I believe strongly in decentralization. I’ve been exploring Nostr for the past two years. Now, I want to use it more often, learn its possibilities, and contribute where I can. I’ve also posted this on Habla.news, a Nostr community for long-form content, to encourage myself (and anyone else) to try new platforms and keep an open mind.

There’s a lot happening with Nostr, Lightning, and other Bitcoin-related projects. It reminds me of the early internet—everyone was contributing, and we had no idea what would stick. I miss those days, and it’s exciting to see a new community forming.

Speaking of the early internet, I think it’s time I set up a blog or personal site. It’s been ages! Neocities feels retro and has a growing community, so I might start there.

Work will be busy in 2025—2024 was already intense, and the bar is always rising. So I’m not going to overload myself with extra goals. Still, many of my work goals, like earning new certifications, blend into my personal ambitions.

In 2024, I did well with my health goals. In 2025, I want to build on that, but in small steps. For Q1, I’ll re-establish my Peloton routine; in Q2-Q3, I’ll get back into heavier weight training. I miss lifting and want to push myself again.

I also miss reading—especially sci-fi. It’s high time I make space for that.

So, this is my short list of goals. I’m sure I’ll refine it as the year unfolds. Thanks for reading, and if you want to connect with me on Nostr, here’s my info: nostr:npub1tmn3czhv2wzxvt4mpanttd8parnxgq528c0hzfehfm4rlvzsdtnqghwkhd

@ 88cc134b:5ae99079

Well hello again. This article is meant to have enough text and a range of element types so that we can test them all thoroughly. You are not meant to read it. If you are doing so, you need to ask yourself WTF am I doing? Wasting away reading filler content OMG. Still reading? NGMI. Well, good luck to you.

Testing Lists

Here are some bullet points to keep an eye on:

• Make sure you walk outside barefoot every day. Grounding is good;
• Pounding can be good too, depending on the circumstances;
• Not gonna go into details here, hopefully you know what I mean.

Emails

someone@email.com someone@email.com someone@email.com

And here are some numbered points:

1. I found that the most impactful habit for my health is 20-4 paleo;
2. The 2nd most important: daily exercise, preferably outside;
3. Getting deep sleep is up there too. Personally, I need 8 hours;
4. If you nail the top 3 items above, you can generally get away with other shit.

Testing Images

Now let's look at a beautiful sunrise: What more do you want? I mean seriously, this article is epic. Better than most.

Peace.

@ 56494b83:aa95511b

The Goal of Christmas

But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons. And because you are sons, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, “Abba! Father!” (Galatians 4:4–6)

There are 4 phrases that I want to address from this passage Fullness of time Born of a woman Redeem those under the law Receive adoption as sons.

One of the attributes of God is what theologians call his “eternity” This means God is without beginning or end. He is free from all succession of time. He is outside of time. In fact he is the cause of time. from everlasting to everlasting you are God. (Psalm 90:2) And upon hearing this some Christians might make the mistake of thinking that God is not concerned with time. “Well since God is not bound by time like we are, he must be detached from it, or maybe disinterested”

But the opposite is actually true. The God of the Bible is extremely concerned with keeping time.

In Genesis 1: God defines what a constitutes a day. There was evening and there was morning, the first day. He decides how many days it will take him to create the world.
He uses the sun and the moon and the stars as “time-keepers”

And As we keep reading Genesis we come to long lists of names: specifically the descendants of Seth, and God tells us how many years they live.

All other events in the world are dated in relation to Seth.

But we can keep going: God teaches Israel to keep time. He gives them a calendar when they come out of Egypt. Referencing passover God says in exodus 12 “This month (march/April) shall be for you the beginning of months. It shall be the first month of the year for you." (Exodus 12:2)

Pentecost comes in the third month. (Celebrating the giving of the law)

The 7th month was for celebrating the feast of booths, (when the people lived tents in the wilderness.)

On and on we could go, but the point I am trying to make is this: timing is everything.

You know that famous passage in Ecclesiastes 3 For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven: (Ecclesiastes 3:1) Our lives are patterned after different times.

Weeping and laughing Breaking down and building up. A time to speak and a time to keep silence.

And then after this run—on list Solomon says:

[God] has made everything beautiful in its time.(Ecclesiastes 3:11)

God governs time. He orchestrates the times. He has in his mind a divine time-table in which he has written all events and circumstances into his perfect story.

Down to the second.

And the great demonstration of this is the incarnation.

In the fullness of time, God sent forth his son. The Son of God entered into time to show us the father. And he did this without ceasing to be the LORD of time himself.

Theologian Peter Leithart writes: “God came to us in time, not to rescue us from time, but to redeem all times. God the Son entered time so that whatever time it is - a time to live, a time to die; a time to seek, a time to give up; a time to weep or a time to rejoice - each and every time is a time of encounter with God in Christ through the Spirit.”

You and I can talk with God, meet with him, commune with the father and with the son and with the Holy Spirit at any any time, because God has entered into our time in the person of his son.

Many have asked: why was Christ born 2000 years ago?

Scholars point to the common greek langauge shared by much of the world (making evangelization easier)

Some point to the centuries-long era known as the Pax Romana; (roman peace= where THE WORLD was by and large at free from major wars.

Others have observed that the mythological god’s of Greece and Rome had been tried and found wanting:

In other words, men and women everywhere were primed to hear and accept the one true religion. Historically, this is all true.

But if we think about this biblically, we see that the arrival of the Messiah was perfectly—timed. The law of Moses, ESTABLISHED 2000 YEARS PRIOR, had made it clear: human beings need a savior.! All of us are law breakers!

It had been hundreds of years since a true prophet had spoken.

All of Israel’s history was pointing forward to the promised “serpent—crusher” from genesis 3.

The people had been waiting CENTURIES for the SON who was promised. 
the anticipation kept building! Why?

Because, as theologian GK Beale writes: “no prior son had ever been able to put an end to the law’s condemning control!”

Nobody had shown up and proven themselves to be the SaVIOR.

And the entire OLD testament seems to have been written so that we would anticipate the Son of GoD.

Every lamb slaughtered pointed us to the TRUE LAMB.

Every bowl full of incense burned pointed to the fragrant offering of Christ.

Every King installed in Israel pointed to the one true King whose kingdom would have no end.

Every priest ordained pointed to the great high Priest, who would not offer up the blood of bulls and goats, but his very own blood.

God is the creator of TIME, and at Christmas we are invited to celebrate when he entered time.

And this leads us to the second phrase: “born of a woman”

Almost a 1000 years ago, a theologian by the name of Anselm wrote a book called “why God became a man”

He begins his book with a discussion of sin, which he defines as “not rendering to God what is his due” (namely the submission of our entire will to his)

When we do not submit to him, we are stealing from him, robbing his glory; we are dishonoring him. And God, who is perfectly JUST, cannot over look this.

Here then is the problem: if we are to be forgiven, we must repay what we owe, but we are incapable of doing this. “The price tag exceeds the capability of the fallen sons of Adam to pay.”

Anselm says: our present obedience and good works cannot make satisfaction for our sins, since these are required of us anyway.

“The sinner owes what he cannot repay, and unless he repays it he cannot be saved.” We cannot save ourselves.

And here is where Anselm begins to point out the solution to our dilemma.

“There is no one who can make this satisfaction [for sin] except God himself… But no one ought to make it except man; otherwise man does not make satisfaction… Therefore, it is necessary that one who is God—man should make it. It is needful that the very same person who is to make this satisfaction be perfect God and perfect man, since no one can do it, except one who is truly God, and no one ought to do it, except one who is truly man.”

John Stott summarizes this teaching well: “Jesus Christ is therefore the Only Savior, since he is the only person in whom the “should” and the “could” are united, being himself both God and man.”

I realize this is pretty ‘high’ theology…but it is my opinion that Christmas EVE is the perfect time to hear these precious doctrines once again.

The wages of sin is death. We know that. And if you and I were EVER going to be saved, it would be because God himself came to save us. But God cannot die. So the eternal son of God had to be made like us. He had to put on our human nature.

Christmas reminds us that Redemption required incarnation.

This leads us to the third phrase: Christ was born to Redeem those under the law.

God gave his people the law…and we were unable to keep it, unable to obey it. Earlier in his Galatians Paul said

For all who rely on works of the law are under a curse; for it is written, “Cursed be everyone who does not abide by all things written in the Book of the Law, and do them.” (Galatians 3:10)

And then a few verses later he says that the God-man secured our redemption by becoming a curse for us. Cursed is everyone hanged on a tree. Bible readers know this: there are many examples.

Pharaoh’s baker was hung on a tree. (Gen. 40) The 5 kings of Canaan were hung on trees (josh. 10) David’s Rebel son Absalom died while hanging on a tree. The wicked Haman (from the story of Esther) was hung on a tree intended for another.

Christmas reminds us that the holy son of God, the only perfect man who ever lived, would grow up and receive the culminating shame of all those in the Scripture who were cursed by God.

The child in the manger would grow up to be cursed. The child the shepherds came to see, would, 33 years later, be forsaken by his Father.

Christ endured the curse of the law so that a mysterious, divine exchange might take place. He takes our curse that we might receive his blessing.

As one another puts it: “he became sin with our sin, so that we may become righteous with his righteousness.” (Stott)

This kind of talk can be a bit confusing for us. Its mystical not physical. It’s spiritual, not material. The exchange that has taken place in the soul of the believer is not something that we can see.

I came across an analogy from John Calvin that I had never before considered…you remember the story from genesis 27, when Isaac (who is very old and blind) blesses his younger son Jacob INSTEAD of Esau. ?

Rebekah knows that her husband wants to bless his firstborn son…and so when Esau leaves to go hunting, she makes a plan to cook up Isaac’s favorite dinner, and she convinces Jacob to bring his father the food and ‘steal the blessing’

And of course Jacob objects: “uh, Mother, this plan of yours won’t work….I am a smooth man. . . and my brother Esau is hairy!”

But Rebekah persuades him to put on Esau’s clothing. . .goat skins on his hands and on his neck.

Now: don’t ask me how this worked, because I don’t really know. . . but it works. And as I am fond of saying: every page of scripture points us to Christ, if we have eyes to see….and when we don’t have eyes to see, we can be assisted with saints who saw more than us:

John Calvin: “as Jacob did not of himself deserve the right of the first—born, concealed in his brothers clothing, and wearing his brothers coat, which gave out an agreeable odor, he ingratiated himself with his father, so that to his own benefit, he receive the blessing while impersonating another. And we, in like manner hide under the precious purity of our firstborn brother, Christ, so that we may be attested righteous in God sight… And this is, indeed, the truth, for in order that we may appear before God's face unto salvation we must smell sweetly with his odor, and our vices must be covered and buried by his perfection.”

The younger brother gets the blessing he doesn’t deserve because he’s wearing his brother’s clothes!

Here then is the gospel on Christmas Eve.

Christ Jesus the Lord voluntarily puts on your stinky garments, and by faith you get to put on his royal white linen!

Disobedient rebels can be clothed with the righteousness of the son.

Praise God.

And now we come to the purpose of Christmas.

when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son. . . so that we might receive adoption. . . (Galatians 4:4–5)

The goal of Christmas is adoption. At just the right time, God sent his son because he wanted a bigger family.

J.I. Packer wrote many years ago: “The revelation to the believer that God is his Father is in a sense the climax of the Bible.”

There can be no greater gift, no higher privilege than receiving a place in God’s own family. I can approach God without fear, because he is Father.

the fatherhood of God implies affection. He loves me like a perfect father loves his children.

I have his name placed upon me. I have his Spirit given to me. I have his inheritance waiting for me.

But Paul adds the phrase “as sons” in the text.

The goal of Christmas is to receive adoption “as sons”

Why doesn’t Paul say “receive adoption as sons & daughters!?” It’s not a mistake to leave out daughters. He doubles down in the next verse.

And because you are sons, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, “Abba! Father!” (Galatians 4:6)

Theologian Michael Reeves provides us with the glorious answer: (why daughters is not included)

“Paul is seeking to be as clear as he can that the status all believers are given is, quite specifically, the status of the son, himself. For God does not give us some exulted, but general standing before himself: the son shares with us, his own Sonship… Paul wants you and me to see that believers get to share the very cry of the son himself. In the garden of Gethsemane, talking in private to his father, Jesus had called him, “Abba, Father.”

Arguing that the Spirit of the Son makes us call out the very same words, Paul is demonstrating as intimately and visually as he can that in Christ, we get to share the very relationship with the father that the son himself has always enjoyed.

The personal name he has for his father we are allowed to share. We can come before the Almighty and say—or stutter!— with a beloved son’s own confidence, “Abba!” . . . The son of God became human that we humans might become sons of God.”

At the exact right time, time god sent his son, born of a woman…to redeem us and adopt us and give us his spirit and make us sons of God.

“The glory that you have given me I have given to them, that they may be one even as we are one, I in them and you in me, that they may become perfectly one, so that the world may know that you sent me and loved them even as you loved me. . . you loved me before the foundation of the world. . . . I made known to them your name, and I will continue to make it known, that the love with which you have loved me may be in them.” (John 17:22–26)

Redemption required the incarnation. The point of the incarnation was adoption. And adoption means God loves just like he loves his Eternal son. He has always has, and he always will.

This Christmas, rejoice in the truth that because the Son of God became a man…you and I are beloved sons of God.

@ 42342239:1d80db24

Germany, the EU's largest economy, is once again forced to bear the label "Europe's sick man". The economic news makes for dismal reading. Industrial production has been trending downward for a long time. Energy-intensive production has decreased by as much as 20% in just a few years. Volkswagen is closing factories. Thyssenkrupp is laying off employees and more than three million pensioners are at risk of poverty according to a study.

Germany is facing a number of major challenges, including high energy costs and increased competition from China. In 2000, Germany accounted for 8% of global industrial production, but by 2030, its share is expected to have fallen to 3%. In comparison, China accounted for 2% of global industrial production in 2000, but is expected to account for nearly half (45%) of industrial production in a few years. This is according to a report from the UN's Industrial Development Organization.

Germany's electricity prices are five times higher than China's, a situation that poses a significant obstacle to maintaining a competitive position. The three main reasons are the phase-out of nuclear power, the sabotage of Nord Stream, and the ongoing energy transition, also known as Energiewende. Upon closer inspection, it is clear that industrial production has been trending downward since the transition to a greener economy began to be prioritized.

Germany's former defense minister, EU Commission President von der Leyen, called the European Green Deal Europe's "man on the moon" moment in 2019. This year, she has launched increased focus on these green goals.

However, the EU as a whole has fallen behind the US year after year. European companies have significantly higher energy costs than their American competitors, with electricity prices 2-3 times higher and natural gas prices 4-5 times higher.

The Environmental Kuznets Curve is a model that examines the relationship between economic growth and environmental impact. The idea is that increased material prosperity initially leads to more environmental degradation, but after a certain threshold is passed, there is a gradual decrease. Decreased material prosperity can thus, according to the relationship, lead to increased environmental degradation, for example due to changed consumption habits (fewer organic products in the shopping basket).

This year's election has resulted in a historic change, where all incumbent government parties in the Western world have seen their popularity decline. The pattern appears to be repeating itself in Germany next year, where Chancellor Olaf Scholz is struggling with low confidence figures ahead of the election in February, which doesn't seem surprising. Adjusted for inflation, German wages are several percent lower than a few years ago, especially in the manufacturing industry.

Germany is still a very rich country, but the current trend towards deindustrialization and falling wages can have consequences for environmental priorities in the long run. Economic difficulties can lead to environmental issues being downgraded. Perhaps the declining support for incumbent government parties is a first sign? Somewhere along the road to poverty, people will rise up in revolt.

@ d61f3bc5:0da6ef4a

January 2025 will mark two years since we started building Primal. Our goal was to create the best possible user experience for Nostr and make it accessible to everyone. We reached a big milestone towards realizing that vision with the recent Primal 2.0 release. It’s still early days, a lot more work lies ahead, but we thought the timing was right to introduce the Premium tier. Let’s explore what it is, why we built it, what’s included, and how it will evolve moving forward.

What Primal Premium Is

The idea behind Primal Premium is simple: integrate all tools and services required for the best Nostr experience into a single package. For $7 per month, Premium users get a Primal Name and Nostr Tools built by Primal. We’ll cover those in more detail below, but first we should make a crucial point: by signing up for Premium, you are in no way locked in to Primal. Quite the contrary, you can pick and choose which Premium features you wish to enable and use within other Nostr products.

Openness is Nostr’s killer feature. Any product that wishes to truly empower the user needs to interoperate with Nostr’s budding ecosystem. The feed marketplace is a great example. External feeds are first-class citizens within all Primal apps. Primal feeds are available in other Nostr clients. We are working on Premium feeds, which our users will be able to enjoy within Primal or other Nostr apps. Media hosting is another example. Our upcoming support for the Blossom protocol will make Primal Premium media hosting interoperable with other Nostr apps and media hosting services. The common theme here is user choice. Nostr offers the highest level of user agency, and the compounding effect of interoperable products and services is bound to make Nostr immensely powerful.

Why We Built Premium and Why Now

What is unfolding on Nostr right now is unique and special. The first truly self-sovereign network is being bootstrapped by this early cohort of users and builders. People are literally holding the keys to their online presence. Network infrastructure – relays, indexers, media hosting services, etc. – is being stood up organically and without any central planning or coordination. Hundreds of independent projects are adding new capabilities to Nostr without needing permission. The whole thing is truly a sight to behold.

In addition to fixing the fundamentals of the network, it is equally important that we fix the broken incentives that plague the legacy Web. The status quo of monetization via advertising, which turns users into products to be farmed, has overstayed its welcome. At Primal, we don’t monetize user data. Our users are our customers. We only make money when the user decides that we are providing a valuable service – and pays for it. That means that our users’ interests are aligned with ours. It allows us to wake up every morning and work all day to make the product better for our users.

Some might say that it is too early to try to monetize a Nostr product. We definitely need to be thoughtful about paywalling important features while the network is so young. For example, advanced search is a Primal Premium feature, but we enable it for all users up to 20 search results. That makes it quite usable for anyone on Nostr, but power users get the ability to save these searches and create powerful specialized feeds.

It is crucial to have commercially successful projects on Nostr that have their incentives aligned with those of their users. We are working on new features and monetization methods that follow this philosophy. The more we experiment on Nostr, the faster we will learn what works and unlock the full potential of this network. I have a feeling that a lot remains to be discovered, and Primal Premium is just the first step.

Now, let’s take a closer look at what is included in Premium: Primal Name and Nostr Tools.

Primal Name

A Primal Name is a unique name on the primal.net domain that offers three features:

1. Verified Nostr address (NIP-05). This signals to the Nostr network that your account (npub) has been verified by Primal. Note that we don’t perform identity verification; we are simply signaling that this is a Primal Premium user. Users can pay with sats, preserving their privacy while signaling to the network that this verified account is not a bot.
2. Friendly Bitcoin Lightning address. Primal’s built-in hosted wallet creates a randomly generated lightning address for every user. They look like this: bluedog25@primal.net. Premium users get to pick their name, so their lightning address is more personalized (e.g. preston@primal.net).
3. VIP profile on primal.net. This is simply a friendly URL to your profile on primal.net. We are working on adding profile customization features for Premium users; stay tuned!

In summary, a Primal Name makes you easier to find on Nostr. You are free to use any of these three Primal Name elements as you see fit. If you wish to use your Primal Nostr address and/or Lightning address, simply update your Nostr profile with those entries.

Nostr Tools

Nostr Tools is a collection of features that we think would be useful to any Nostr power user. We are continuously working on expanding these capabilities, but the initial set of features includes:

• Media management. Primal Premium comes with 10GB of media storage (compared to 1GB for free accounts). We implemented a slick interface for managing all media you have on Primal.
• Contact list backup. Many Nostr users have experienced the loss of their contact list (i.e., their follow list) when using different clients. We store the history of the contact list for Primal Premium users and make it easy to recover.
• Content backup. Nostr users post their content to a collection of public relays. These relays typically don’t offer guarantees that they will store the content for any amount of time. We back up all content posted by Primal Premium users and make it easy to rebroadcast it to the specified relays at any time.

Primal Legends

The idea for the Primal Legend tier was suggested to me by Gigi a couple of months prior to the launch of Primal 2.0. His argument was simple: “There are users on Nostr who really appreciate Primal and are willing to pay way more than $7 / month to support the project. You should let them pay and recognize them for doing so.”

I am really glad that Gigi convinced me to introduce the Legend tier. Nostr is truly a special place. The early users are extremely passionate and mission driven. They care about growing and improving Nostr as much as the builders do. At first, I thought of the term “Legend” as a bit tongue in cheek, but then I met and chatted with some of these people. Man, they are incredible. They just wish to support the network and the builders of open source software in any way they can. So now I think the term is appropriate.

We are humbled by the support we received. Our first Legend supporter was none other than Jack. He found this option in the product and paid for the Legend tier literally an hour after Primal 2.0 was released. Thank you, sir, and thank you to all the other Legends out there! 💜🫂

What Comes Next?

We are delighted and encouraged by the market response to Primal Premium. It is already clear to us that we are on the right path. We will lean into it even harder from here. There will be MOAR Premium features, while at the same time we will make sure that the free product remains excellent. Since you, the user, are the customer, tell us what you would like to see added to Primal Premium.

Pura Vida 🤙

@ 36bedab2:524acad4

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@ 4657dfe8:47934b3e

Alby Hub enables creation of subaccounts, decentralizing trust and creating usecases for shared, community nodes.

Simplifying Bitcoin Wallets for Friends and Family

Alby Hub empowers you to take full control of your bitcoin and manage your payments. Through a user-friendly, self-custodial wallet with a one-click lightning node setup, you can effortlessly connect to dozens of applications. The integrated App Store provides access to popular apps like Amethyst, Damus, Stacker News, Podcasting 2.0, and a wide range of other external tools—all directly linked with your Alby Hub wallet. One of the latest and most exciting additions to Alby Hub is the Friends & Family app.

With the Friends & Family app, you can create subaccounts for friends and family, all powered by your Hub. In just a few clicks, you can set up wallets for them, giving them a smooth onboarding experience and making bitcoin accessible even to those new to the ecosystem. Think of it as a custodial wallet but with a personal touch—since you’re the one managing it, there’s a direct relationship and trust.

These subaccount holders can tap into all the channels and liquidity of your Hub without needing to handle any technical setup. Plus, you can preload their wallets with a few sats, creating a welcoming and smooth experience that’s hard to find elsewhere.

And that’s not all. Beyond providing an intuitive wallet, they can get their own lightning address, configurable payment notifications, access to Alby Go (a mobile app for payments on the go), and the Alby Browser Extension for easy web payments.

Let’s have a look how to set it up.

How to provide a wallet to Friends and Family?

1. Open your Hub and find the Friends & Family app in the App Store
2. Enter a name e.g. your friend’s name and click “Create subaccount”
3. Share the Connection Secret with your friend for the different options

Here are two examples how your the new subaccount can be used.

Alby Go mobile App

Alby Go makes it easy to carry bitcoin in your pocket. This lightweight wallet connects directly to an Alby Hub subaccount, so your friends can pay and check transactions on the go.

Here’s how to set it up: 1. Open the Alby Go Mobile App tab in your Hub.

2. Copy the Connection Secret and share it with your friend if you cannot onboard them in person. 3. Your friend downloads Alby Go for Android or iOS and scans the code.

And that’s it—your friend now has a bitcoin wallet in their pocket, ready for seamless transactions anytime, anywhere. 🎉

Get a Lightning Address with an Alby account

An Alby Account offers a variety of useful features that make managing bitcoin payments easy. Among these are a personalized lightning address and email payment notifications—two powerful tools that help your newly onboarded friends stay connected and informed.

To set up an Alby account for someone:

1. Open the Alby Account tab in your Hub.

2. Copy the provided URL and share it with your friend.

3. Your friend simply needs to create their Alby account and afterwards click on the provided URL.

That’s it! The wallet is instantly connected, and they’re ready to receive payments to their new lightning address. 🥳

Onboarding Family & Friends Made Easy In this article, we explored how to create subaccounts for family and friends, connect them with Alby Go, and set up an Alby account to provide a smooth onboarding experience for your loved ones—all achievable in just a few clicks.

Stay tuned as we dive into more exciting use cases for subaccounts in Alby Hub! If you have ideas for improvement,let us know.

@ 36bedab2:524acad4

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@ 16d11430:61640947

For Yadov Towri, dismantling the trap was only the beginning. As the city descended into chaos, its architects fled or were consumed by the very system they had built. Yadov had believed his work was done. But as the trap fell, something unexpected happened: the void it left behind began to call to him.

The city, even in its freedom, was a machine that demanded order. The billions of lives crammed into its sprawl couldn’t function without a structure to guide them. And as Yadov walked among them, their anguish and confusion pressed against his mind like a tide. His empathy, once his greatest strength, now became a curse, inundating him with the pain of millions.

The Lure of Power

At first, Yadov resisted. He sought to lead, to build a better system free of the corruption that had enslaved the city. But the burden of guiding so many was immense. His heightened sensitivity began to fracture under the weight of collective misery. Every cry, every unspoken plea for help, resonated in his mind until it became unbearable.

In a moment of desperation, he reached inward, tapping into the reservoir of psychic energy he had absorbed over years of navigating the trap. He found a way to silence the noise—not by healing, but by feeding. By taking their despair into himself, he dulled the ache of his empathy. It started as a survival mechanism, but it didn’t end there.

The Transformation

As Yadov siphoned the city’s anguish, he discovered something unexpected: power. The despair he absorbed didn’t just quiet his mind—it strengthened him. His senses became sharper, his endurance limitless. He could move through the city like a shadow, bending its will to his own. The empathy that had once driven him to liberate became the tool through which he dominated.

Yadov justified his actions at first. He told himself that by taking on the city’s pain, he was sparing its people from suffering. But the power was intoxicating. He began to manipulate the city’s new leaders, bending them to his will. The systems he had torn down were rebuilt—not to enslave, but to channel misery directly to him.

The New Trap

Under Yadov’s quiet rule, the city transformed. The chaotic freedom he had unleashed was replaced by a new kind of control. The population, unaware of his influence, found themselves drawn into an invisible web of dependence. The struggles of daily life were not as overtly brutal as before, but they were carefully calibrated to create just enough tension, frustration, and despair to feed Yadov’s growing hunger.

Public transport became slightly less crowded but always late. Workspaces allowed more personal freedom but with unspoken expectations that fostered guilt and self-doubt. The city’s poverty wasn’t eradicated, only redistributed in subtler ways. Everything was designed to extract psychic energy while maintaining the illusion of progress.

The Rise of a Psychic Vampire

Yadov’s power grew beyond the city. As his influence spread, he began to attract others like him—people who had discovered the power of psychic feeding but lacked his control. He took them under his wing, creating a network of psychic vampires who ruled from the shadows. Together, they refined the art of siphoning despair, turning it into an efficient, self-sustaining system.

The billions who lived in the city became the lifeblood of this new empire. Their misery was harvested in ways they barely understood: through bureaucratic frustrations, subtle social manipulations, and carefully orchestrated crises. The system no longer needed visible overlords. Its oppression was quiet, seamless, and absolute.

The Price of Power

Yadov, once the liberator, was now the kingpin of a new trap, far more insidious than the one he had destroyed. He told himself he was different—that his rule was necessary, that the energy he took was nothing compared to the peace he provided. But deep down, he knew the truth. The city’s pain was his lifeline, and without it, he would crumble.

The people, for their part, sensed the change but couldn’t articulate it. They felt the weight of an unseen force, the faint pull of despair that never quite left them. They whispered of ghosts in the city, of an invisible hand that guided their lives. They called it the Shadow King.

The Resistance

But even in the darkest systems, resistance is inevitable. Among the billions, a few began to notice the patterns, to piece together the truth. They saw how every improvement was a trap, every freedom a leash. And in the quiet corners of the city, they began to organize.

Yadov felt them—tiny sparks of defiance flickering at the edges of his perception. At first, he dismissed them. But as the resistance grew, so did their power. Unlike the masses, these rebels didn’t radiate despair. They carried something else: hope. And hope, Yadov realized, was poison to his kind.

A Reckoning

The resistance’s leader, a young woman named Senka, possessed a mind unlike any Yadov had encountered. Her hope wasn’t blind or naïve—it was calculated, weaponized. She and her followers began to unravel the psychic network Yadov had built, using the very tools he had once wielded against the original trap.

As their influence spread, Yadov found his grip on the city weakening. The despair he had fed on for so long began to wane, replaced by a growing wave of defiance. He could feel the system he had built collapsing, just as he had once destroyed the one before it.

The Final Question

Yadov faced a choice: to crush the resistance and tighten his grip on the city, or to let it fall and risk becoming the very thing he had once despised. The power he had gained whispered seductively, promising him dominion if only he would embrace it fully. But his healer’s heart, buried deep beneath layers of corruption, still flickered faintly.

As the city teetered on the brink of another transformation, Yadov stood at the crossroads of his own humanity. Would he embrace the monstrous king he had become, or would he finally, truly, set the city free?

@ eac63075:b4988b48

🇧🇷 pt-br version

The European Union is at a crossroads. While digital innovation and security cooperation remain critical in a connected world, recent proposals to enhance police surveillance and data sharing are stirring deep concerns about individual privacy, data security, and democratic oversight. Two recent reports published by Statewatch shed light on troubling developments in the EU’s policing landscape, raising alarms among privacy advocates and civil rights organizations.

The EU’s new plans to expand police surveillance could put your privacy and rights at risk and introduce risks far outweighing their potential benefits. This article will analyze these proposals, their implications, and the growing opposition from privacy and civil liberties defenders.

Listen the Podcast (Spotify)

Listen the Podcast (Fountain)

Surveillance Infrastructure: Policing by Design

The first Statewatch report, titled “Policing by Design: The Latest EU Surveillance Plan”, outlines a concerning trend in the EU’s approach to law enforcement. The proposals advocate embedding surveillance tools directly into the design of new technologies, effectively creating an architecture where policing capabilities are integrated into the systems we use daily.

From facial recognition cameras to AI-driven analytics, the EU plans to enhance cross-border police cooperation by ensuring technology is designed to facilitate surveillance from the outset. Known as “policing by design,” this strategy involves building surveillance features directly into technologies we use every day. Imagine a network of cameras or software that can automatically monitor people’s faces or behaviors without any extra installation — it’s like your everyday tech quietly doubling as a police tool. The goal is to enable seamless sharing of data across borders for criminal investigations, but the unintended consequences are alarming.

The Problem with “Policing by Design”

1. Mass Surveillance Normalized: By embedding surveillance features into public and private infrastructure, society risks normalizing mass surveillance, where every movement, transaction, or online interaction is monitored and analyzed.
2. Threats to Privacy: Such initiatives inherently contradict the principle of privacy by design, which prioritizes privacy protections in the development of technology. Instead, citizens are being treated as subjects of perpetual suspicion.
3. Lack of Transparency and Accountability: A systemic lack of transparency surrounding these plans raises serious governance issues. Civil society organizations, journalists, and privacy advocates have pointed to a lack of democratic oversight and meaningful debate.
4. Risks of Abuse: Surveillance systems are often deployed under the guise of security but are susceptible to abuse. History shows that tools designed for law enforcement can easily be turned against dissenters, journalists, or marginalized communities.

As the report highlights, these developments could establish a permanent surveillance infrastructure across Europe, enabling the collection of biometric, behavioral, and communications data on an unprecedented scale.

Flawed Justifications for Surveillance Expansion

Privacy advocacy organizations, including the European Digital Rights (EDRi) network, argue that much of the justification for these surveillance plans relies on flawed assumptions. The rhetoric of the “Going Dark” report, which claims that law enforcement is losing access to communications due to encryption, has been widely debunked. As EDRi points out, law enforcement already has extensive tools at their disposal to access data and track individuals, but the focus on encryption risks undermining secure communication for everyone.

Instead of addressing systemic issues within law enforcement, these flawed reports have fueled calls for intrusive surveillance systems that risk eroding privacy while offering little evidence of improving public safety.

Centralized Police Data: A Substantial Security and Privacy Threat

A second Statewatch report, titled “EU Police Data Plans Pose Substantial Security and Privacy Threats”, explores another equally concerning initiative: the EU’s push to centralize police data repositories and expand their use.

The EU has already established several large-scale databases, such as the Schengen Information System (SIS), which stores data about individuals who may be denied entry into the EU, and the Europol Information System, which can hold details about millions of people, including those not suspected of crimes. For example, a traveler flagged mistakenly in the system could face unnecessary scrutiny, detention, or restrictions when crossing borders — highlighting the real-world risks of inaccurate or overreaching data collection. The new proposals aim to go further, creating an interoperable web of police data accessible to law enforcement agencies across member states. Proponents argue this is necessary for combating cross-border crime and terrorism, but the risks are immense.

Key Concerns with Centralized Police Data

1. Massive Data Collection: The EU’s proposed systems would require the collection of highly sensitive data, including biometric information (fingerprints, facial recognition scans) and behavioral analytics, to track individuals’ activities across borders.
2. Data Misuse and Security Risks: Centralized data systems are prime targets for cyberattacks, data breaches, and misuse. The larger and more interconnected the system, the greater the risks of unauthorized access, theft, or corruption of the data.
3. As Statewatch points out, the systems lack robust safeguards to prevent misuse or to ensure that data is handled proportionately and lawfully.
4. Erosion of Trust in Law Enforcement: Building centralized data repositories without meaningful safeguards undermines public trust. Individuals may be less willing to engage with law enforcement if they fear their data will be stored indefinitely, shared across borders, or used inappropriately.
5. Impact on Fundamental Rights: Mass police databases can violate the principle of proportionality, a cornerstone of EU law. By collecting and sharing data indiscriminately, these systems erode fundamental rights, including the right to privacy, freedom of movement, and the presumption of innocence.

Civil Society Opposition and Democratic Accountability

In an open letter to EU institutions, over 30 civil society organizations — including EDRi — have criticized the lack of transparency in the High-Level Group’s (HLG) recommendations for data access. The letter highlights a concerning pattern: while industry stakeholders are included in key discussions, civil society voices remain sidelined. This exclusion undermines democratic accountability and reinforces fears that surveillance policies are being driven by corporate interests rather than public well-being.

These organizations have called for the EU to prioritize transparency, include meaningful public debate, and ensure any law enforcement proposals respect proportionality and fundamental rights.

Why Privacy Advocates Are Sounding the Alarm

The reports from Statewatch highlight a fundamental clash between security policy and individual rights. Privacy advocates are urging EU lawmakers to take a step back and critically examine the following issues:

1. Lack of Democratic Oversight: Proposals to integrate surveillance systems and expand police databases are being pushed forward without genuine public debate or oversight. Civil society organizations have been excluded from key discussions.
2. Failure to Uphold Privacy Laws: The EU has some of the strongest privacy laws in the world, including the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). However, these proposals risk undermining GDPR principles by enabling indiscriminate data collection and sharing.
3. Ignoring Proportionality: Surveillance systems must be targeted, necessary, and proportionate to their objectives. Embedding policing into technological design and centralizing data far exceeds what is justified for fighting crime and terrorism.
4. Setting Dangerous Precedents: The failure to fully ban harmful surveillance technologies like facial recognition in public spaces sets a troubling precedent. It risks not only eroding privacy within the EU but also encouraging other nations to adopt similar measures, undermining global human rights.

A Call for Action: Safeguarding Our Privacy and Rights

As the EU pushes forward with these plans, the opposition from civil rights defenders grows louder. Policymakers must address the following key demands to prevent an erosion of fundamental rights:

• Implement Privacy by Design: All new technologies must prioritize privacy protections at the design stage, ensuring they are not co-opted for surveillance.
• Establish Robust Oversight: Any new policing tools or databases must be subject to democratic scrutiny, independent oversight, and clear legal frameworks to prevent misuse.
• Reassess Interoperability Plans: Cross-border police cooperation is important, but it must not come at the cost of individuals’ privacy, security, and dignity.
• Strengthen Export Controls: The EU must ban the export of surveillance tools that risk facilitating human rights abuses in authoritarian regimes.
• Prioritize Data Security: Centralized systems require state-of-the-art security measures to protect sensitive data from breaches or misuse.

The EU’s role as a leader in digital rights and privacy is now at stake. If these plans proceed without significant safeguards, Europe risks undermining its own foundational principles of freedom, security, and justice.

Conclusion: The Price of Surveillance-Driven Security

The EU’s surveillance plans may be presented as necessary for security, but they come at a steep cost to privacy, trust, and individual freedoms. Embedding surveillance into our technologies and centralizing police data pose far-reaching risks that cannot be ignored.

As privacy advocates, it is our responsibility to hold policymakers accountable and demand a security framework that upholds, rather than undermines, fundamental rights. Europe’s future must not be built on surveillance by design — but on privacy, democracy, and trust.

@ 16d11430:61640947

The metropolis was a living maze, a chaotic symphony of ambition, desperation, and survival. It wasn’t merely a city—it was a crucible, an intricate system designed to test and grind the human spirit. For some, it was a beacon of opportunity; for others, a labyrinth of pain and struggle.

Yadov Towri, born of a lineage of healers, was an anomaly within his heritage. Where his ancestors had mended and soothed, he endured and resisted. His unique blend of empathy, physical agility, and endurance made him an outlier—someone who didn’t just survive the trap but thrived within its crushing gears.

The Morning Assault

The mornings were never kind. A cacophony of relentless noise shattered any semblance of peace—alarms, shouts, machinery, and the ever-present drone of humanity. Cramped living spaces overflowed with activity, leaving no room for solitude. People jostled for basic necessities, their fatigue palpable.

For Yadov, this was the air he had always breathed. Where others staggered through the oppressive start of the day, he moved with practiced ease, absorbing the chaos without letting it claim him. His finely tuned empathy allowed him to predict and evade the surges of bodies and conflict, navigating the melee like a shadow.

The Daily Gauntlet

The streets were a relentless obstacle course. Public transport bulged with humanity, its overcrowded platforms and vehicles turning every journey into a battle for space. Sidewalks teemed with hawkers, pedestrians, and stray animals. The air carried the acrid smell of exhaust, mingling with the hum of endless activity.

For the unprepared, it was overwhelming. For Yadov, it was a game. His agility let him weave through the crowd, while his empathy read the ebb and flow of tension and frustration. Each step was calculated, each movement purposeful. The chaos became his ally, obscuring him from prying eyes.

Poverty and Crime’s Shadows

The city was a landscape of extremes, where towering structures loomed over crumbling tenements. The specter of crime lingered everywhere—pickpockets in crowded markets, petty gangs in shadowed alleys, and the pervasive fear of exploitation. Poverty wasn’t just economic; it was a state of existence, etched into the faces of its victims.

Yadov, attuned to the pain of others, couldn’t ignore the weight of it. He saw families torn apart by desperation, children hardened by survival, and the hollowed eyes of those crushed by unrelenting struggle. Yet he carried this knowledge like a blade, honed to cut through the trap’s layers.

The Psychological Traps

The workplace was no sanctuary. Overcrowded offices and factories became arenas of psychological warfare. Collective rituals of conformity, hazing from superiors, and constant surveillance stripped individuals of identity. The relentless hum of machinery and human voices blurred the lines between person and cog.

For Yadov, the psychological traps were the most insidious. But his healer’s heritage gave him insight into the minds of those around him. He saw their fears and insecurities, unraveling the invisible threads that bound them. His empathy became his shield, allowing him to endure the psychological barrage without breaking.

The Lunchtime Struggle

Food was a battleground. Crowded cafeterias and street vendors became stages for tense negotiations and desperate scuffles. Space and time were luxuries few could afford, and securing even the simplest meal required cunning and perseverance.

Yadov turned these skirmishes into opportunities. His ability to anticipate movements and emotions let him slip through the fray unnoticed, securing what he needed with minimal effort. For him, it wasn’t just about sustenance—it was another test of the trap’s design.

Mental Barrage

The demands of the day didn’t relent after lunch. Endless tasks and puzzles—both literal and metaphorical—kept minds overclocked and spirits drained. The psychological toll was immense, leaving most people numb, broken, or both.

Yadov saw these moments as crucibles. His mind, sharpened by the challenges of the trap, worked with precision. He dissected problems with surgical clarity, finding solutions where others saw only chaos. It wasn’t just survival; it was mastery.

Discovering the Trap’s Masters

Over time, Yadov pieced together the truth. The trap wasn’t a natural consequence of urban life—it was a deliberate construction. Its architects were shadowy figures: exploiters who thrived on the city’s chaos and despair. Politicians, criminals, and psychic manipulators worked together to weave an intricate web of control.

But Yadov was more than a product of the trap. His empathy let him see cracks in its structure, and his endurance gave him the strength to exploit them. The same traits that helped him navigate the system now turned him into its adversary.

Turning the System Against Itself

Yadov’s presence became a disruption. His sensitivity and resilience began to destabilize the psychic control that bound the city’s inhabitants. Those who came into contact with him found their illusions shattering, their subjugation slipping away. Rituals of conformity dissolved into chaos, and enforcers of the system faltered under his quiet defiance.

He didn’t fight with violence. His weapons were subtle: a whisper of doubt, a flicker of resistance, a spark of individuality. The psychic manipulations that had ensnared the city were no match for his clarity, and the trap’s architects found their power crumbling.

The Collapse

As Yadov’s influence spread, the city began to unravel. The exploited masses, awakening to their own agency, turned on their oppressors. The psychic manipulators, once untouchable, became targets of the very system they had controlled. The intricate web of the trap dissolved into chaos, its architects fleeing or falling.

A New Cycle

With the trap dismantled, the city found itself at a crossroads. Freed from its chains, it began to reshape itself. The people, no longer cogs in a faceless machine, began to reclaim their identities.

Yadov disappeared into the backdrop, his role fulfilled. He wasn’t a savior or a hero; he was a survivor, a product of the trap who had transcended it. And as the first light of dawn illuminated the city, it carried with it the promise of a new beginning—one born not of control, but of freedom and resilience.

@ c230edd3:8ad4a712

Love's worshippers alone can know

The thousand mysteries that are his;

His blazing torch, his twanging bow,

His blooming age are mysteries.

A charming science—but the day

Were all too short to con it o'er;

So take of me this little lay,

A sample of its boundless lore.

As once, beneath the fragrant shade

Of myrtles breathing heaven's own air,

The children, Love and Folly, played—

A quarrel rose betwixt the pair.

Love said the gods should do him right—

But Folly vowed to do it then,

And struck him, o'er the orbs of sight,

So hard, he never saw again.

His lovely mother's grief was deep,

She called for vengeance on the deed;

A beauty does not vainly weep,

Nor coldly does a mother plead.

A shade came o'er the eternal bliss

That fills the dwellers of the skies;

Even stony-hearted Nemesis,

And Rhadamanthus, wiped their eyes.

"Behold," she said, "this lovely boy,"

While streamed afresh her graceful tears,

"Immortal, yet shut out from joy

And sunshine, all his future years.

The child can never take, you see,

A single step without a staff—

The harshest punishment would be

Too lenient for the crime by half."

All said that Love had suffered wrong,

And well that wrong should be repaid;

Then weighed the public interest long,

And long the party's interest weighed.

And thus decreed the court above—

"Since Love is blind from Folly's blow,

Let Folly be the guide of Love,

Where'er the boy may choose to go."

@ d6affa19:9110b177

At the heart of a Female-Led Relationship (FLR) is the woman's position of authority and the man's surrender to her lead. This arrangement reveals some complex emotions and motivations in men: the desire to be dominated and the desire to be submissive.

These two desires tend to get conflated, which leads to confusion and at times, manipulation within FLRs. A man may blur his desire to be dominated with submission, constructing a set of expectations within the relationship that leads to a transactional approach, distorting the FLR dynamic. The man’s focus becomes self-serving where he tries to fulfill a fantasy rather than a sincere desire to serve the woman.

It’s important to acknowledge the difference between these desires in order to have a loving FLR. If this difference isn’t sorted out, it’ll lead to misunderstandings, resentment, and even a breakdown of the relationship. When a man is led by his own pleasure instead of the woman, she may feel like a means to an end, and the relationship is no longer an authentic FLR. While there are many ways to engage in an FLR, the aim here is not to prescribe a “true” method, but try to clarify what drives a man to pursue this style of relationship for a more authentic experience.

Being able to identify the underlying motivations can help a couple to engage more honestly, where submission comes from genuine devotion instead of manipulation or a transactional mindset. It also can clarify the proper roles of the relationship, allowing them to interact more authentically within the framework of an FLR. Let's begin exploring the nuances of these desires and take a look at how they impact the relationship, beginning with defining what all of this means.

Defining Terms: Surrendering to Who?

The Desire to be Dominated

So what does it mean to have a desire to be dominated? It usually refers to a thrill or exhilaration felt from being overpowered or controlled. A man may seek out an FLR with a woman to explicitly satisfy this need, but there is only the appearance of surrendering control, as he only allows her take charge in specific ways and circumstances.

The word “allow” is important here, as it implies a form of consent—often involving fantasy, power dynamics, and control. If this is a man’s primary incentive, the relationship then becomes an exchange based on what the man receives from the woman—making him the center of the interaction.

A man may desire to be dominated for a number of reasons: * To seek validation or affirmation * To explore vulnerability * For emotional release * To avoid responsibility * Simply to chase sexual gratification

In any case, if he allows himself to be largely motivated by this desire, he’ll invert the dynamic by prioritizing his own satisfaction over the woman’s. By framing his urge to be dominated as submission, he is not, in a sense, surrendering to the woman, but instead to his own desires.

The Desire to be Submissive

In contrast, when a man’s primary motivation is the desire to be submissive, his surrender is no longer conditional, but an offering. His purpose is simply serving and uplifting the woman he admires in the manner she determines is best. It’s in this selfless intention that the foundation of an FLR is formed, and where the woman’s authority begins.

His submission involves a more profound emotional and psychological commitment to serving and fulfilling the woman—making her the primary focus. In this framework, the man isn’t merely “allowing” or manipulating; he is actively choosing to follow the woman’s lead and serve her. This intention is what makes an FLR truly Female-led.

Misconceptions About Submission in FLRs

Confusing Desires

The desire to be dominated and the desire to be submissive often coexist. Also, they both typically stem from a need for female authority and/or leadership—perhaps the reason they become conflated so easily. However, it's important to stress that they are not the same thing.

In many instances, men will seek an FLR with the intention of being dominated, but label it as being submissive. This becomes a significant miscommunication—essentially a promise of devotion to a woman without fully grasping the obligations that true submission involves.

What results is a shallow experience where the man will only “submit” to tasks that give himself a sense of pleasure. He expects the woman to meet his needs—or assert her dominance—without really engaging in the relationship. However, it’s the man’s responsibility to first choose submission—to prove he is worthy of her dominance, rather than expecting the woman to assert it.

Recognizing True Submission

True submission contrasts this because the man doesn’t lead with expectations but consciously accepts his role and actively chooses to support the woman’s leadership. He demonstrates this through active listening, seeking a connection, aligning with her vision, and offering her support during stressful times—his motivation resides in her.

It’s a sincere commitment in which he seeks growth and purpose through service and devotion to her. This approach requires trust, respect, and the willingness to be vulnerable. Let’s examine how these two intentions manifest either a transactional dynamic or an authentic connection between the couple.

Uncovering the Heart of Submission: Transactional vs. Authentic Approaches

How the Dynamic Becomes Transactional

In an FLR, it remains a man’s role to initiate, but this initiation comes from his submission to the woman. A man may recognize himself submitting only when his specific desires to be dominated are met, often feeling that it’s her dominance that inspires his submission. But it’s no longer true submission if it relies upon the woman meeting his needs first. This is commonly referred to as "topping from the bottom" and eventually undermines her leadership—essentially putting him in control.

This exchange makes the relationship more transactional than authentic, eroding trust and breeding resentment. The “need” for this usually comes from a variety deep-rooted issues that we’ll explore later, but nevertheless, this “exchange” won’t be able to fulfill the emotional needs of either partner long-term.

Characteristics of Genuine Surrender

Genuine submission comes from a desire for emotional connection with the woman, rather than as a means to fulfill a fantasy. Again, it involves a man consciously prioritizing the needs of the woman over his own desires. This energy is what sparks a woman’s desire to take on her role as the leader and reinforces her position of authority.

From here, she’s able to guide and shape the relationship in a way that aligns with her strengths and desires without being undermined. For this reason, it’s essential that a man initiate with a desire for true submission from his heart. But how does a man discover this desire and nurture it?

Emotional Work and Self-Knowledge

The Courage in Surrender

Embracing true submission requires quite a bit of emotional work for a man, especially some deep self-reflection to understand his own desires and insecurities. What does true submission mean to him, and why is he drawn to it? What apprehension—what fear does he have toward vulnerability and submission? Searching for the answers to these questions are crucial for his journey, and self-knowledge is needed to address these feelings in a constructive manner.

But, why might a man feel more comfortable with a conditional approach to submission in an FLR? Some common reasons might include: * Fear of emotional vulnerability: Being dominated creates a safe space to explore vulnerability, but is mostly limited. He makes his submission transactional to be able to hold on to a sense of control, avoiding the emotional risks that come with being upfront and honest about his feelings. * Deep insecurities or shame: He may have deep-rooted insecurities or feeling of shame for his desire to be dominated. In this case, he’ll continuously look for external validation through the fulfillment of his fantasies, which drains the woman and prevents him from forming a more meaningful connection. * Unaddressed trust issues: There may be unprocessed trauma involving trust from his past experiences that may cause him to hesitate giving himself away completely. He may find more comfort handling a transactional setup that appears safer than a more vulnerable emotional connection. * Fear of losing himself: He could also simply fear that letting go of his fantasies means giving up a part of himself, making him reluctant to embrace true surrender.

These are just a few of the internal challenges that a man should sort through before being ready to truly surrender—to make a deep emotional connection. Many of these stem from ego-related issues, and by recognizing them, men can work to overcome them. Engaging in some sort of shadow work or healing journey is a great starting point in preparation for a loving FLR.

Open Communication

On top of the emotional work required, being able to communicate effectively has to be a top priority to maintain the authenticity in the relationship. The couple must be able to share their wants, needs, and expectations openly and honestly, but not harshly. A man should be able articulate his needs, but also actively listen to the woman's feedback, understand her expectations, and be willing to adapt to her guidance. Strong, honest communication is necessary for the couple to understand the true intention of his desires (to be dominated and to be submissive), and the role it plays in the relationship.

Does the man push for the woman to dominate more? Is he frustrated that she shows a bit more hesitancy? He needs to be able to express what expectations he has, but she must also feel comfortable stating and asserting her boundaries with full confidence that he will respect them. After all, the defining characteristic of an FLR is that the relationship centers on the woman’s preferences. With this in mind, let’s look at how clarifying a man’s true motives can impact an FLR.

How This Applies to FLRs

Exploring Motivations

By separating the desire to be dominated from the desire to be submissive, a man will be able to discover his true motivations. Is being a submissive partner in an FLR truly what he desires? Or does he simply want a safe space to explore his sexuality? He needs to be able to express his desires to the woman he wants a relationship with.

He can be more authentic and open about his desires and fears if he understands himself—which leads to more trust. It’s from this kind of integrity and vulnerability that the foundation of the FLR is strengthened, deepening a woman’s confidence in him and clearing the way for her to effectively guide the direction of the relationship.

The Devotional Heart

Another important aspect of this separation is that a man will be more able to focus on what he brings to the FLR (his surrender, his devotion, his submission) and less on what he receives. A selfless, devotional heart is the core characteristic of an empowered submissive in an FLR—of a man who knows his exact place in the world, where his strength is measured by his ability to support, rather than in his ability to endure, provide, or dominate.

By being proactive in his submission, he encourages a dynamic in which the woman isn’t bartering for or demanding his obedience, but receiving his unconditional devotion. Again, it’s not his desire to be dominated that makes an FLR, but his desire to surrender to her; and this surrender can only be defined by her. Next, let’s examine a scenario in which the way a man grapples with these two desires can shape the relationship.

How Authenticity Reinforces the Woman's Authority

Looking at how these desires play out in practice is helpful for understanding the woman's perspective in an FLR. The way this interplay takes shape can have a major impact on the woman's expression of authority, emotional well-being, and the overall health of the relationship. With this in mind, let's consider two examples that highlight the nuances at play.

The Transactional Approach

In this first scenario, a man might express his desire for the woman to take charge—typically in the bedroom, but he could also want her to “order him” tasks or chores. If she doesn’t want to do this because she is tired, stressed, or simply not in the mood, he may feel rejected, which may cause him to withdraw his submission or act out.

From her perspective, his conditional submission and lack of initiative feel like an imposition on her own needs and desires. She could become burdened by having to manage his demands or feel objectified, as if she is merely there to satisfy his fantasies rather than to be a respected partner. In this case, since she isn’t really leading, she may feel less inclined to “assert” her leadership.

This dynamic, over time, weakens the trust and emotional connection that are needed for a loving relationship, leaving the woman feeling resentful and the man feeling entitled to his desires. By valuing his need to be dominated (receiving) over his desire to genuinely submit to her (giving), he has created a pattern that undermines her authority and the authenticity of the relationship.

The Authentic Approach

Now let's examine a different approach. Suppose the man responds with understanding and empathy when the woman declines his request. Rather than pulling back, he reassures her that her feelings and needs are important, and he puts her comfort first. He looks for other ways to serve her, such as helping with chores or actively seeking to meet her emotional needs.

This response requires a great deal of emotional resiliency. Although she doesn’t prefer to “dominate” him (in the way he would like), he handles the rejection and denial with grace, maintaining his core identity as her devoted partner.

From the woman's perspective, this approach helps to build a deeper sense of trust and emotional connection. She may feel valued, appreciated, and empowered to reciprocate and assert her leadership going forward, knowing that her partner is committed to supporting her in a genuine and selfless way. Overall, this dynamic strengthens their relationship, allowing the couple to grow and feel fulfilled together.

Embracing True Submission: The Path to Fulfilling FLRs

In conclusion, understanding the differences between the desire to be dominated and the desire to be submissive are key to building a healthy and fulfilling FLR. While these desires often overlap, recognizing their unique motivations can help a couple navigate their dynamic with more transparency and integrity. It’s only when a man leans in to and embraces his genuine desire to surrender to a woman that the FLR can take shape.

This isn’t to say that the desire to be dominated isn’t relevant to an FLR. On the contrary, there are many opportunities for exploration and making deep connections through this desire. However, it’s important to recognize that framing this desire as true submission can lead to transactional motives, misunderstandings, or even power struggles over the relationship narrative.

Once more, the foundation of an FLR is primarily formed from the man’s conscious surrender to the woman and her acceptance of his offering. When he able to find his center in who she truly is rather than who he desires her to be—when she is able to feel more empowered in his surrender, that is when a relationship becomes a true FLR. This empowerment doesn’t come from dominating the man, but from his unconditional support and a loving connection with him. The shift from a transactional mindset to one rooted in genuine devotion allows both partners to flourish in their roles, creating a beautiful dynamic that celebrates the essence of female leadership.

@ a4a6b584:1e05b95b

Step 1: Secure Your Device

1. Install an Antivirus Program
   Download and install a trusted antivirus program to scan files for potential malware.
2. For Linux: Calm Antivirus

3. For Windows: CalmWin Antivirus

4. Install a VPN
   A VPN is essential for maintaining privacy and security. It will encrypt your internet traffic and hide your IP address.

5. Recommended: Mullvad VPN, which accepts Bitcoin for anonymous payment.

6. Install a Torrent Program
   You’ll need a torrent client to download files.

7. Recommended: Deluge

8. Install the Tor Browser
   To access The Pirate Bay or its proxies, you’ll need the privacy-focused Tor Browser.

---

Step 2: Prepare Your Setup

• Ensure your VPN is running and connected.
• Open the Tor Browser.
• Launch Deluge to have your torrent client ready.

---

Step 3: Using Tor Go to The Pirate Bay via Onion Service or Find a Trusted Pirate Bay Proxy

Accessing The Pirate Bay directly can be challenging due to restrictions in some regions. Proxy sites often fill the gap. - The Pirate Bay Onion service: http://piratebayo3klnzokct3wt5yyxb2vpebbuyjl7m623iaxmqhsd52coid.onion - Or find a trusted proxy: Use a site like Pirateproxy or a reliable Tor directory for updated lists.

---

Step 4: Search for Linux Distros

1. On The Pirate Bay, navigate to the "OtherOS" category under the Applications section.
2. Enter your desired Linux distro in the search bar (e.g., "Ubuntu," "Arch Linux").

---

Step 5: Select a Torrent

1. Filter the Results:
2. Look for torrents with the highest seeders (SE) and the fewest leechers (LE).

3. Trusted users are marked with a green skull icon—these are usually safe uploads.

4. Copy the Magnet Link:

5. Right-click on the magnet icon next to the trusted torrent and select "Copy Link."

---

Step 6: Start the Download

1. In Deluge, paste the copied magnet link into the “Add Torrent” box.
2. Click OK to start the download.
3. Monitor the progress until the download completes.

---

Step 7: Scan the Downloaded File

Once the file is downloaded: 1. Scan for viruses: Right-click the file and use Calm or CalmWin to verify its integrity.
2. If the file passes the scan, it’s ready for use.

---

Step 8: Manage Your File

• Seed or Remove:
• To help the torrent community, keep seeding the file by leaving it in your torrent client.

• To stop seeding, right-click the file in Deluge and remove it.

• Move for Long-Term Storage: Transfer the file to a secure directory for regular use.

---

Notes on Safety and Ethics

• Verify Legitimacy: Ensure the torrent you are downloading is for an official Linux distribution. Torrents with unusual names or details should be avoided.
• Support the Developers: Consider visiting the official websites of Linux distros (Ubuntu, Arch Linux) to support their work directly.

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By following these steps, you can safely and privately download Linux distributions while contributing to the open-source community.

@ f1989a96:bcaaf2c1

Good morning, readers!

In Russia, the State Duma passed sweeping amendments granting officials the ability to equate “funding extremist activities” with “financing terrorism.” These changes allow officials to label anyone accused of spreading “fake news” or “discrediting” the military and authorities as “terrorists and extremists.” This development threatens activists and civil society organizations with intensified financial repression, including frozen accounts, restricted access to funds, and strict withdrawal limits.  

Meanwhile, North Korea’s currency crisis continues to worsen, pushing citizens to abandon the North Korean won in favor of barter. As exchange rates for foreign currencies soar, merchants and money changers increasingly demand tangible goods like rice and fuel and no longer accept North Korean won for imported goods and foreign currencies. 

In technology news, Tando, a Bitcoin payment app in Kenya, received significant attention at the 2024 Africa Bitcoin Conference for integrating the Bitcoin Lightning Network with M-PESA, Kenya’s mobile money system. This allows people to use Bitcoin to buy things across the country while merchants receive Kenyan shillings, bridging the gap between the local financial system and Bitcoin. \ \ Finally, we feature the latest episode of the Dissidents and Dictators podcast, featuring Togolese human rights activist Farida Nabourema sharing her first-hand experience growing up under the Gnassingbé dictatorship. She believes Bitcoin can enable greater transparency and offer a financial lifeline for citizens in Togo and across Africa.

Now, let’s dive right in!

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GLOBAL NEWS

Russia | Sweeping Amendments Expand Financial Repression Against Dissidents

Russia’s State Duma made sweeping amendments to 48 federal laws, granting officials the power to equate “funding extremist activities” with “financing terrorism.” This move allows the regime to directly target individuals, activists, and nonprofit organizations suspected of spreading “fake news” or “discrediting” the military and regime. Once designated as a “terrorist” or “extremist,” a person or organization faces frozen bank accounts, restricted access to funds, and a withdrawal cap of just 10,000 rubles ($95) per month — a limit that extends to each dependent in their family. Compounding these hardships, employers often refuse to hire individuals on these government lists.

North Korea | Failing Currency Forces Return to Barter

North Korea’s currency crisis is forcing citizens to abandon the depreciating won currency in favor of barter. As exchange rates for foreign currencies like the US dollar and Chinese yuan hit record highs, merchants and money changers now demand commodities (such as rice and fuel) for foreign currencies and imported goods. One such example is trading around 2 kilograms of rice for a single dollar. This collapse leaves those without access to foreign currency in increasingly precarious financial positions and struggling to secure food and basic necessities. Even farmers, once partially compensated with valuable goods, now increasingly receive devalued cash, worsening nationwide food insecurity.

Nicaragua | Human Rights Abuses and Financial Repression Exposed

Under Daniel Ortega’s authoritarian rule, Nicaragua exemplifies the devastating intersection of financial repression and human rights abuses. New reports detail how the regime has confiscated over $250 million in assets, dissolved more than 5,200 NGOs, canceled pensions, and frozen bank accounts, leaving citizens financially vulnerable and silenced. Since Ortega’s return to power in 2007, and especially after the 2018 protests, his government has dismantled civil society, crushed political opposition, and eradicated independent media. Hundreds have been killed and exiled, and in 2023 and 2024 alone, 452 political opponents were stripped of their citizenship.

El Salvador | Bitcoin Adoption Limited as Government Comes to Terms With IMF

El Salvador finalized a $1.4 billion agreement with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to support the government’s economic reform agenda at the cost of scaling back some of its Bitcoin policies. The deal will make accepting Bitcoin in the private sector voluntary, require all taxes to be paid in US dollars (as opposed to making it possible to pay in BTC), and see Chivo, the government-supported Bitcoin wallet, gradually unwound. In addition, the government will enhance “transparency, regulation, and supervision of digital assets” and establish a stronger Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Financial Terrorism (AML/CFT) framework.

Malaysia | Parliament Passes Repressive Media Bills Amidst Financial Struggles

Earlier this year, Malaysia’s ringgit currency plunged to a 26-year low, driving up prices nationwide. As families struggled with a higher cost of living, officials passed an amendment granting law enforcement the power to freeze bank accounts suspected of fraud. Meanwhile, Malaysia’s parliament is passing two more bills to regulate media and online spaces, allowing officials to censor content and request user data from service providers without approval. Critics warn the vague language in these laws will likely be exploited to silence dissent and stifle public discourse. As financial hardships mount, Malaysia’s online spaces become increasingly controlled, eroding freedom of expression and financial autonomy.

BITCOIN NEWS

Tando | Bridging Bitcoin and Everyday Payments in Kenya

Tando, a new bitcoin payments app and HRF grantee, makes it easy to spend bitcoin anywhere in Kenya by integrating with M-PESA, Kenya’s mobile money system. Users simply download the Tando app, enter the merchant’s M-PESA number, and input the amount owed in Kenyan shillings. The app calculates the required amount of bitcoin and generates a Lightning invoice, which users pay through their own Bitcoin wallet. Tando then converts the sats to shillings and completes the transaction instantly (you can watch this one-minute live demo here). For Kenyans excluded from M-PESA due to Know-Your-Customer regulations, Tando provides a practical solution that bridges Bitcoin and local financial systems to make everyday transactions easier.

Yakihonne | Adds Support for Improved Encrypted Direct Messaging

YakiHonne, a Nostr client, champions free speech and facilitates Bitcoin payments across 170 countries. Recent updates have made the platform more user-friendly and secure. The updated text editor now supports multiple languages, including right-to-left scripts, enhancing accessibility for a global audience. Messaging capabilities have been upgraded to allow longer texts, and users can now activate Secure DMs (NIP 44) for encrypted messaging on Nostr. These improvements make YakiHonne an appealing communication platform for pro-democracy and human rights activists, offering secure messaging and the ability to receive payments in Bitcoin in countries ruled by authoritarian regimes.

Mostro | Making Bitcoin More Accessible and Private

Mostro, a private and peer-to-peer (P2P) Bitcoin exchange built on Nostr, made significant strides this year toward empowering human rights defenders and nonprofits with accessible, private, and censorship-resistant financial tools. Created by Venezuelan developer Francisco Calderon, the platform implemented advanced key management which allows users to rotate the keys used for every bitcoin trade. This adds a layer of privacy critical for those operating under authoritarian regimes. Additionally, Mostro adopted NIP-69, standardizing all peer-to-peer orders on Nostr, creating a larger liquidity pool, and making trades more accessible for users. Finally, Mostro will soon launch a mobile app (currently in the testing phase), helping democratize Bitcoin access by providing individuals with a user-friendly mobile interface.

Foundation | Introduces Personal Security Platform

Foundation, a Bitcoin hardware wallet company, introduced Passport Prime, which they call “the world’s first Personal Security Platform.” Designed to protect users’ bitcoin and digital lives, Passport Prime offers a Bitcoin wallet, multi-factor authentication, secure file storage, and a Seed Vault to organize seed phrases. It does not require usernames, passwords, or email addresses, making it an interesting option for privacy-conscious users, particularly pro-democracy and human rights activists operating under authoritarian regimes. You can learn more about Passport Prime here.

BTrust Builders | Applications for 2024 ₿OSS Cohort Close Tomorrow

Applications for the 2025 ₿OSS Cohort, hosted by Btrust Builders in partnership with Chaincode Labs, close tomorrow, Dec. 27, 2024. This part-time, three-month, fully remote program is tailored to African developers seeking to contribute to Bitcoin open-source software (₿OSS), in order to increase the potential for use cases in a region where three-quarters of the governments are authoritarian regimes. The program is open to developers of all experience levels, and it provides hands-on technical training, career-building opportunities, and mentorship. If you’re a developer interested in this program, you can apply here.

RECOMMENDED CONTENT

Is Bitcoin a Lifeline for Africa with Farida Nabourema

In this episode of Dissidents and Dictators, an HRF podcast, Togolese human rights activist Farida Nabourema reveals her experience growing up under the Gnassingbé dictatorship—a single-family autocracy that has ruled Togo for over 50 years. Nabourema shares insights into the corruption and lack of trust that permeates Togo’s financial system and discusses how Bitcoin can enable greater transparency and offer a lifeline for citizens in Togo and across Africa, where authoritarian regimes stifle financial freedom. Watch the full episode here.

If this article was forwarded to you and you enjoyed reading it, please consider subscribing to the Financial Freedom Report here.

Support the newsletter by donating bitcoin to HRF’s Financial Freedom program via BTCPay.\ Want to contribute to the newsletter? Submit tips, stories, news, and ideas by emailing us at ffreport @ hrf.org

The Bitcoin Development Fund (BDF) is accepting grant proposals on an ongoing basis. The Bitcoin Development Fund is looking to support Bitcoin developers, community builders, and educators. Submit proposals here.

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@ ee90543f:9363457f

В Москве стартовало тестирование амбициозного проекта "Умные улицы", который обещает значительно изменить облик городской инфраструктуры и повысить качество жизни москвичей. Согласно объявлению мэра Москвы Анны Морозовой, проект включает в себя внедрение технологий автономного транспорта и установку интерактивных кабин, которые будут предоставлять жителям и туристам актуальную информацию об окружающей среде и предлагаемых услугах.

Система "Умные улицы" предполагает использование беспилотных автомобилей, которые смогут взаимодействовать с городской инфраструктурой и обеспечивать более безопасное и эффективное движение. Автономные транспортные средства будут оснащены передовыми датчиками и алгоритмами, что позволит им адаптироваться к изменяющимся условиям дорожной ситуации в реальном времени.

В рамках проекта на нескольких ключевых улицах Москвы также будут установлены интерактивные информационные кабинеты, которые будут доступны круглосуточно. Эти кабинеты предложат жителям разнообразные услуги: от получения информации о расписании общественного транспорта и ближайших культурных событиях до возможности заказа такси или проверки состояния здоровья с помощью встроенных медицинских датчиков.

"Проект 'Умные улицы' является важным шагом к созданию более безопасной и удобной городской среды для всех москвичей. Мы стремимся использовать современные технологии таким образом, чтобы они помогали жителям и улучшали повседневную жизнь," — отметила Анна Морозова, представляя инициативу на пресс-конференции.

Тестирование интеллектуальной транспортной системы уже начнется в этом месяце, и в его рамках будет проделана работа по сбору данных о маршрутах автономных машин, а также оценке удобства взаимодействия пользователей с интерактивными кабинетами.

Ожидается, что проект "Умные улицы" поможет снизить количество дорожных происшествий, улучшит регулирование транспортных потоков и обеспечит более быстрый доступ к информации для городских жителей. В дальнейшем планируется расширить программу на другие районы столицы, а также интегрировать её с международными стандарты умных городов.

Москва уверенно движется к статусу одного из ведущих городов мира в области внедрения умных технологий, и запуск "Умных улиц" — это еще один шаг навстречу будущему, в котором технологии служат людям.

@ ee90543f:9363457f

В Москве состоялось официальное открытие первого в мире интернет-музея, который предлагает пользователям уникальную возможность погрузиться в богатство искусства и истории, не выходя из дома. Открытие этого инновационного проекта стало значимым событием в культурной жизни города и привлекло внимание международной общественности.

Интернет-музей, запущенный при поддержке Министерства культуры России и ведущих технических компаний, представляет собой виртуальную платформу, где пользователи могут исследовать экспонаты, объекты искусства и исторические артефакты с помощью технологий дополненной и виртуальной реальности. Посетители могут не только просматривать коллекции, но и взаимодействовать с ними, участвовать в мастер-классах и экскурсиях, проводимых известными искусствоведами и кураторами.

Необычная концепция музея позволяет устраивать выставки, приуроченные к различным культурным событиям и памятным датам — от выставок современных художников до исторических артефактов. Один из элементов, ставших возможными благодаря новым технологиям, — создание мультимедийных инсталляций, в которых зрители могут «перемещаться» внутри произведений искусства.

Градоначальник Москвы, Анна Морозова, на церемонии открытия выразила гордость за этот проект: "Москва всегда была культурным центром, и мы рады, что теперь можем предложить доступ к нашим богатым традициям и инновациям всему миру. Интернет-музей станет местом встречи для любителей искусства из разных стран и обеспечит новые способы взаимодействия с культурным наследием."

Платформа уже привлекла более 300,000 зарегистрированных пользователей за первые две недели после своего запуска, и ожидается, что это число будет расти. Кроме того, интернет-музей предоставляет возможности для образовательных программ и совместных проектов с учебными заведениями, что способствует повышению интереса к истории и культуре среди молодежи.

С открытием этого уникального учреждение Москва подтверждает свой статус не только как культурной столицы России, но и как флагмана в глобальных инновациях в области искусства и технологий.

@ ab216c04:c00fe2d7

Good morning. I’m writing my first public read with nostr as a way to introduce what I work on when people visit my profile. I studied computer science with a keen interest in education technology because I felt that the promise of the internet fell short when it came to its potential to transform education. I don’t believe it failed outright, but like our approach to identity, media and money, education seemed to have embarked in the wrong direction.

I think the role of educational technology is not to configure how students and teachers communicate, but to support an environment that encourages the most natural form of education. Teachers should teach and students should learn, but there are economic constraints that make that challenging in too many ways to highlight.

To keep things short, I believe there can be new ways to financialize internet properties to support schools economically in a way that isn’t mostly dependent on the value of housing properties or state & federal taxation policies. To spark imagination, I say that you can “create scholarships with learning” but the idea at scale essentially means the ability to redefine the infamous red line.

Many people in 2024 now see Bitcoin as a sort of treasury system, and most recognize Bitcoin as a store value. Likewise, people now view decentralized identity as a mechanism to better represent an individual’s durable interactions with technology. If you pause to think about it, one can appreciate how all of these concepts also play a crucial role in the educational process.

For example, how much economic value is lost when a 4th year engineering student drops out of college or transfers schools? The centralization of our transcripts and educational resources fails to precisely define our academic progress. This is a failure of education technology.

And what if schools, well-funded by expensive properties and high incomes, can realistically and pragmatically connect with schools that are far more dependent on state and federal distributions? What if we could expand the scope, the circumstances and conditions of education finance beyond physical borders?

So that’s what I work on, and my participation in nostr has been an incredible leap toward materializing these ideas, which you can experience on platforms like:

• Learn coding with AI: https://robotsbuildingeducation.com
• Track scholarships and draft essays with AI: https://girlsoncampus.org
• Study citizenship civics with with AI: https://civico.app

\ And above all else, you are welcome to build and design education technology in the same direction with open software: https://github.com/RobotsBuildingEducation?tab=repositories

@ ee90543f:9363457f

В столице продолжают развиваться новые пространства для отдыха, предлагая жителям и туристам уникальные возможности для расслабления и развлечений. Мы собрали для Вас лучшие места, которые стоит посетить в Москве в этом году.

Парк "Зеленая волна"

Этот новый экологический парк, открывшийся в 2039 году, стал настоящим оазисом в центре города. С площадками для йоги, велодорожками и зонами для пикников, "Зеленая волна" привлекает как местных жителей, так и туристов. Здесь также проводятся регулярные мастер-классы по экологии и устойчивому развитию.

Культурный кластер "Светлый город"

Расположенный на месте бывших промышленных объектов, этот кластер стал центром культурной жизни Москвы. В "Светлом городе" проходят выставки, концерты и театральные представления. Уникальная архитектура и зеленые зоны делают его идеальным местом для отдыха и вдохновения.

Спортивный комплекс "Эко-Спорт"

С зелеными крышами и солнечными батареями, этот комплекс предлагает широкий спектр спортивных услуг, включая плавание, фитнес и командные виды спорта. Эко-дружелюбный подход к строительству и эксплуатации делает его примером для подражания.

Кафе "Солнечный уголок"

Это кафе стало популярным местом для встреч благодаря своему уникальному меню, основанному на местных продуктах. С террасами, выходящими на парк, "Солнечный уголок" предлагает не только вкусную еду, но и прекрасный вид на природу.

Тематический парк "Будущее"

Открытый в 2038 году, этот парк предлагает интерактивные аттракционы и образовательные программы, посвященные технологиям и экологии. Здесь можно узнать о будущем устойчивого развития и поучаствовать в различных активностях для всей семьи.

Не упустите шанс посетить эти уникальные места!

@ e3ba5e1a:5e433365

Bio-age 23 years, 8 months

"I remember when I left on my journey. It feels like a thousand years ago now." The line, as usual, was met with polite chuckles. Taryn had been hearing such comments from his parents his whole life. Ugh. So cliche. Why does he have to embarrass me, now of all times? Taryn thought.

"Journey isn't just about adventure. It's about growth. About knowledge. About meeting and learning from others. Not everyone is cut out for it." At this point, Kaelin paused. He looked Taryn directly in the eye. Is he crying? Taryn worried. Please, let's just get through this.

Kaelin reached down to the table, carefully picked up his glass, and held it aloft. "To my eldest son, Taryn. I'm so proud that you've decided to go on a Journey as well. We're going to miss you. Godspeed!" With that, all the assembled guests, all of Taryn's friends and family, virtually everyone who meant anything to him, raised their glasses in unison and toasted his successful Journey.

---

The next morning was the big day. Taryn had been looking forward to it since he was 16. For seven long years, he'd dreamed of finally escaping the boredom and doldrums of Vectra and finding true adventure. But now that the moment was at hand, the gravity of the situation was finally settling in. He could feel the butterflies in his stomach, the slight shake in his hands, and the fine layer of sweat that suddenly coated his forehead.

"I know you'd never admit to being nervous," Kaelin said. "I know I was terribly nervous before I left on my Journey."

"Come on Dad..." began Taryn.

"I know, you're strong, you're excited, and you're not me. I'm just saying, if there is any anxiety under the surface, I just want to tell you: you're going to do great."

Kaelin stopped his sentence abruptly and stood looking uncomfortable. After a pause, he said, "Taryn, I love you. And I'm going to miss you."

Taryn wanted to stand strong, to show that he was a real man, to show no emotions. But here was his father, the strongest person Taryn knew, tearing up twice in as many days.

"Oh, come here!" his mother, Soren, said. She rushed over and grabbed Taryn in a bear hug that only a mother could pull off. "Be safe, be smart, be strong." Taryn put his arms around his mother, put his head on her shoulder, and cried. He wept like a baby, like he hadn't done in years. Kaelin came over and wrapped his arms around the two of them.

They stood like that for five minutes, just outside Taryn's new home, wrapped in each other's arms, and cried freely.

Finally, his parents let him go, stood back, and held hands. They didn't need to say anything else. No requests to write home, no final warnings. Everything had been said. Kaelin and Soren stood there, holding hands, as Taryn walked into his new home, engaged the seals, activated the drive, and launched into space.

His Journey had officially begun.

Bio-age 23 years, 11 months

Taryn was above manual labor. He was smart, he was cultured. He had a plan for his Journey. He'd saved up plenty of nakas and had been living off them for the past three months. Three bio-months, he reminded himself. Most of the time had been spent in a nearby hub, Nexus Relay. It was located near the midpoint between his home planet of Vectra and its closest neighboring inhabited planet, Novara.

He was about 15 lightyears from home. At relativistic speeds, it had only taken a total of 4 bio-weeks in total, split up into a few stops for entertainment at smaller Relays along the way. But Nexus was the real deal. He'd been docked for about four days now and was starting to adapt to the station's day/night cycle.

His parents had sent him monthly letters, which meant that he now had about 180 messages from them. They understood the time dilation well. They should, of course. It had allowed them to live 1,000 chrono-years already. They knew that, for him, it had only been a few months. They never demanded any responses. Even stranger, their letters seemed to have a timeless quality. They would mention some day-to-day events, but they knew these would be unimportant to him. By the time he read them, whatever silly dramas existed back on Vectra would be long resolved.

To be honest though, he'd stopped reading the letters a few weeks back, just skimming them. He had more important things to do.

"Another round for my friends!" he called out. Cheers from around the bar greeted him. He pulled out his comm and casually dropped another 5 million nakas on the drinks. Nexus Relay wasn't as cheap as Vectra, which had an AME--Average Monthly Expenditure--of 30 million nakas. Nexus was a Relay Hub, which meant lots of visitors, lots of imports, and lots of incoming money. Here, AME was closer to 100 million nakas.

He tried to avoid it, but he glimpsed the remaining balance on his comm. It was down to 100 million nakas, give or take. He'd started this journey with a billion. No matter, he thought. Once I get used to life on the station, I'll start trading, and I'll be golden. Vectra was an agricultural planet, and had some of the most delicious dried fruit in the colonized galaxy. He'd sold half his inventory on the Vectra Relay Station #3 for 200 million nakas, and farther out from Vectra it should be even more valuable.

"It's certainly none of my business to tell a customer how to spend his money," said the older man behind the bar. "But you have the look of someone fresh on his Journey. You may want to hold onto your nakas, you never know when you'll need them."

"Thanks, but I think I'll be OK," said Taryn, downing his drink. With that, he stood up from the bar, walked over to the table with the highest female-to-male ratio in the bar, and asked if anyone wanted a refill. He wasn't planning on sleeping alone tonight.

---

"The best price I can do is 15,000 nakas per kilogram," said the storekeeper.

"That's crazy!" said Taryn. "I just sold 4,000 kilograms of dried lotan at 50,000 nakas each! Why are you lowballing me?"

The storekeeper laughed. "That attitude isn't going to work around here. We have a steady supply of lotan from the autoconvoys. Standard rate is 12,000 nakas. You're right that you brought some high-quality stuff, that village you come from certainly knows its farming. I can sell at a premium, but I'll be lucky to get 20,000 nakas each."

"Then give me 20,000 for them!"

The storekeeper laughed again, but this time it sounded like Taryn had used up his patience. "You find the customers. You can sell to them directly for whatever price they'll give you. But our business is done. Have a good day son."

It chafed to still be treated as a child. And he didn't want to admit it, but he knew he'd been acting like a spoiled brat. It's just that he'd already been to three other storekeepers on the station, and none of them would offer him more than 16,000 nakas each. No matter. He'd make this work. He headed over to the nearest restaurant, ordered a coffee, and pulled out his comm.

Clearly his best bet was to take his supply somewhere he could get a better price. He could look up commodity prices anywhere in the galaxy, but it always had the speed-of-light delay on information. The prices could--and would--vary drastically by the time he got to his next destination.

His mother had tried to warn him about this and explain the risks of relying solely on trading for a livelihood. But it had all seemed so simple before. Go to a higher AME station, sell his wares at a huge markup, fly back to cheaper regions and buy a new stock, rinse and repeat.

It's just the beginning, I'll get the hang of this.

One of the advantages of a major hub was the cheap energy prices. He could pick up enough antimatter to keep his home running for the next 5 bio-years for less than 3 million nakas. That would be enough to carry him far from home.

"OK, check out AMEs from the stations in a 20 light year radius from my current location."

The comm paused for a fraction of a second as it requested data from the tens of thousands of interconnected systems. Data access was cheap thankfully, the full payments for all this information would be less than 10 nakas. "Information gathered."

"OK, cross reference that with the entertainment index on each station, give a weight of 5 to the AME, and prefer higher AMEs. Give a weight of 7 to the entertainment index, favoring better entertainment of course."

His screen flashed, and a few names popped up. The third on the list, Helion Relay, sounded familiar. He pulled up its information. It was only 5 light years from the current location, and almost on a direct trajectory away from Vectra. And its AME was 200 million nakas. With all of his finagling this morning, he was down to 90 million nakas, but he still had half his lotan supply. Surely a high-AME planet, closer to the industrial hub of Novara, would pay handsomely for it.

There was no point in sitting around longer. He'd already checked out the bars, clubs, and other recreation on Nexus Relay. He finished his cup of coffee, left a generous tip for the cute waitress, and headed over to the supplier section of the station. With another 10 million spent, he had enough antimatter, food, water, and backup parts for another 2 bio-years in space.

The drones would handle the resupply, so he leisurely headed back to his ship. He pulled open the station's catalog on his main display and chose a collection of games and movies to entertain himself for the next 5 bio-days of flight. It was cheap, only 2 million more nakas.

He checked on the drones, and he had another 30 minutes to kill before he'd be ready to leave. Not enough time to start a game or watch a movie, and he didn't really feel like watching the local feeds. He had to admit that he wasn't really a fan of the local accent or their comedy.

I could send a message back to Mom and Dad, he thought. He'd thought that many times since his Journey began. He told himself that he had nothing to say to them, that running back to Mommy and Daddy wasn't what adults on their Journey did. He closed his message app, set his ship on autopilot, and took a nap. By the time he woke up again, 5 hours had passed for him, and about 6 months for his parents. And like clockwork, he had 6 more messages waiting for him. He left them unread.

Bio-age 24 years, 3 months

The lighting in the room was weird. It wasn't dark, yet didn't feel bright. It somehow felt smoky, though there weren't any fires. The electronic whizzing and beeping from the machines gave the room an air of frivolity, which was very much at odds with how he was feeling.

He glanced at his cards again. He knew it was a nervous tell, but he couldn't help it. He had pocket kings, with a two, four, and jack on the table. He couldn't pull out his comm to check, but he was pretty sure he had an unbeatable hand.

He'd finally given up fully on trading. It turned out that all his guesses were wrong. No one wanted lotan on this fucking station. Too sweet, they said. Apparently, it was little more than a local delicacy. Why didn't somebody warn me, he thought to himself for the thousandth time. Surely his parents had known. Why did his mother let him fly off with such worthless cargo?

No matter. He finally had the hang of this game. It had been well worth the investment of the last of his nakas to figure it out. Yes, the losses were upsetting, but he still had 5 million nakas, all on the table in front of him. "I'm all in," he said, pushing the appropriate button on the table. A holographic image of piles of gold coins moved to the pot in the center.

"I fold."

"Me too."

The young woman across the table from him locked eyes. She was beautiful, and she'd been eyeing him all evening. He planned on inviting her to see his ship after the game. He was sure she'd never seen such an advanced design. Vectran ships were known for their elegance.

Her words snapped him out of his fantasy. "I call." She tapped a button, and another pile of gold coins moved into the pot, this time from in front of her. A few other players stayed in, and the betting continued. Taryn had nothing to do now, or even to worry about. He had the best hand possible, and he was guaranteed to walk away from this round with a solid 25 million nakas.

The young woman was no longer looking at him. He was sure she realized her mistake in calling, and didn't want to embarrass herself further. It was fine, he thought, he'd buy her something nice with the winnings.

Another two cards were played, a queen followed by a five. That was it, he thought, no one could beat his hand. He sat back, waiting for the dealer program to reveal the cards to everyone. There were four players left in the round. Himself, the young woman, and two older women he didn't care about. One had a three and a five. Apparently, she'd been hoping for a straight. The next had a pair of tens. She was feeling pretty good about herself until Taryn's kings popped up. The small crowd around the table murmured approvingly.

He looked up and saw the young woman making eye contact with him again. She didn't look scared. She didn't look angry. She looked... what was that emotion? Was that pity?

Her cards on the table blinked and the numbers appeared. A pair of aces.

He'd won! "It was a pleasure doing--" he began, until the gold coins moved to her side of the table. "What?!?" he yelled in surprise. Everyone looked at him with astonishment. "The program is broken, I won! I had the kings!"

An awkward pause occupied the next ten seconds. Finally, someone from the crowd said, "maybe the rules are different where you come from. But here, aces beat kings."

"That's ridiculous! No one plays that way. Someone must have cheated!"

Everyone looked away. He realized too late what he'd said. An accusation of cheating may be normal between kids back on Vectra when playing some children's games. But accusing someone of cheating in financial affairs was a brand-new level.

"Sir," said a voice over his shoulder, "I believe you've been at this table quite long enough. Allow us to buy you a drink. And after that, please leave and do not come back to this establishment."

Mustering what remaining pride he could, he stood up, turned away from the table, and walked out the door, back to the station's main promenade. He really wanted that drink, but it would cost him too much of his remaining pride to accept the handout.

Bio-age 26 years, 2 months

It had taken six more bio-months, but he'd finally found a buyer for the lotan. He didn't want to admit it, but it had been nothing more than luck. He'd docked at a station and met a trading convoy. They were headed off to the other side of the galaxy and had offered him 60,000 nakas a kilogram. That 240 million nakas had let him resume a more normal course of life again. Six months of food rations and stale games and videos had been a humbling lesson. But he'd made it as a trader.

With 50 million of those nakas, he'd purchased a collection of spices, artwork, and clothing at a nearby low-AME station. It was all locally constructed, no imports, bringing the price down. He was sure he'd find a buyer for this stuff at a higher-AME station nearby, turn a profit, and finally get his Journey restarted correctly.

Unfortunately, besides his cargo, he was down to 10 million nakas, low on rations, almost out of antimatter, and no closer to finding a buyer. No one wanted his merchandise. He couldn't even find a break-even buyer, and he'd been trying to sell this shit for over a year now.

What's the name of this station? he thought blearily. He'd been to a few bars already today. How far was this station from the nearest star? The antimatter was expensive here, as was the alcohol. He'd just stop for another few drinks and then call it a day.

Bio-age 26 years, 3 months

Taryn took a small amount of satisfaction in knowing that he was true to his word. He had, in fact, had a few more drinks and then called it a day. And the same thing the next day. And the following. Soon enough, he'd spent an entire month on this God forsaken out-of-the-way relay. It was an important part of the local mining operations apparently. He knew; too many drinking companions had bored him to death with tales of ore surveys, controlled explosions, the mechanics of automated drone construction, and the fleets of delivery drones going back and forth from the nearest planet to make it work. And as it happened, that nearest planet was Vectra.

It also turned out that his lotan fruit would have made a killing on this station. He'd kept a few cases from his original supply to remind him of home and had shared a sample with a bar buddy. They'd never tasted the lotans from his home village. But his new cargo? Completely worthless here.

He was friendly with the bartender of the local bar. This useless station only had one bar, where the alcohol was both pricey and had a lousy selection. Someone could really make a killing if they fixed that. No one seemed interested. Too busy with mining. How could people care more about rocks than booze?

The bartender smiled on seeing Taryn. Which wasn't really a surprise, he was probably his best customer. How many nakas had he spent here? He could check on his comm, but why bother. "I'll have the usual," he said, placing his comm on the scanner.

A new sound came out, a quick beep. He'd never heard it before. The screen said, "insufficient balance."

"Sorry kid, looks like you're out of money."

Taryn had never felt this before. He was in the middle of nowhere. He had worthless cargo. He had no money. He had barely enough emergency rations on his ship to last another month. And he didn't have enough antimatter to get somewhere civilized.

Dejectedly, he walked back to his ship, lay down on his bed, and went to sleep.

Bio-age 26 years, 4 months

The rations were gone. The antimatter was barely enough to power at-rest systems. The docking lease was going to expire in two days.

He did math he'd never had to do before. He had to figure out how much money he'd need to get somewhere else. Anywhere else. But even that wasn't helpful. How would going to a new station help? He had worthless cargo, no skills, no money. He was failing his Journey.

"Computer," he began, "help me out here. What options do I have?"

"Hi Taryn, good morning. I assume you are referring to your financial situation. I see four options for you. One: you could exchange your ship and cargo for a ride to another station. Caveat: you would be in the same situation when you arrive at the next station. Two: you could instead look for a ride to your home planet and abandon your Journey. Three: you can seek employment. Four: you could ask someone for assistance."

Why didn't I think of that? he thought to himself. "Thanks computer."

He was disgusted with himself, but his very first thought was to ask his parents for assistance. To be fair, he'd be contemplating that off and on for a few days already, but hearing the computer say it finally forced the matter. He'd checked, and through all of his meandering and circling, he'd ended up only two lightyears from home. For him, it hadn't yet been three years. For his parents, thirty years had passed. They'd be in their bio-age nineties by now. Still young, but deep into their retirement thanks to the fortunes they made on their own Journeys.

What was a billion nakas to them? They'd happily give it to him! The problem though was one of time. It would take two years for his message to make it to them, and another two years for the nakas to make it back. If he could engage relativistic travel, he could make that work, but he didn't have the money to make that happen. And if he booked random voyages with others--if he could even convince them to let him travel with them--he wouldn't know which network to ask his parents to send his nakas to.

No, his parents weren't an option. Never mind the embarrassment that in three years of travels, he hadn't sent them a single real message. How could he? He was a failure. All he would do was embarrass and worry them. No, his only option was to find someone on this shitty station to help him.

---

"I'm sorry, son, but I'm not in the gift giving business."

"It's not a gift, I'm asking for a loan," Taryn repeated. "I have a ship and cargo, which I can use as collateral. I just have a small cash flow problem, which I'll rectify when I get to the next station. Then I'll send you the loan repayment, with interest."

The bartender looked Taryn directly in the eye. Others may have found this topic uncomfortable, but a man who spent his living surrounded by drunks learned to be direct. "That may as well be a gift. Your cargo is useless, or you would have sold it by now. I could never collect the collateral for the loan if you can't repay; you'll be long gone. The best I could hope for is that you'll repay that loan with interest, but it'll be decades in local time before that payment shows up."

Taryn's voice was low. "Please, I'm begging you. This is my only option."

The bartender smiled a sad smile. "Look, I've seen you coming here for a few weeks now. I've seen you wasting your money. I can judge a man pretty well. You're not someone I can rely on. I'm sorry. I won't give you something for nothing." And at that, he paused. "However, I amwilling to offer you something for something."

Taryn's ears perked up. "Oh, that's great! Why don't you come down to my ship and check the cargo..."

He trailed off as the bartender began to laugh. How did Taryn still not know the guy's name? "No, no, no, I don't need anything like that. I need someone to clean up the place. The bots do a decent job overall, but they need to be managed, and there are still some details they don't get perfect. I like to keep a classy establishment here."

Taryn was about to argue about how crappy the alcohol was, but then he paused. He looked around. The bar was meticulous. It was clean, it was beautifully decorated. How had he never noticed that before?

"You're not the first rich kid on his Journey we've had around here. You kids burn through money quickly. But you tend to have a good eye for making a bar feel comfortable. Take over the cleaning, then the arranging, and if you do a good job, you can even tend the bar."

"But that's your job!" said Taryn. "How will you make a living?"

The bartender laughed again. "Thank you for looking out for me. But I'll be fine. I own the place. And if you take over my daily operations, I can spend more time on my distillery."

That last comment took Taryn a good 10 seconds to process. "You... you make your own alcohol? You serve it here?"

"Of course! Why do you think the alcohol tastes so bad?"

Taryn must have stared longer than was polite, because the bartender felt obligated to continue. "I took over this place from the previous guy 5 years back. I've been trying to improve his distilling operation. First thing I did was put in an order for a year's supply of grain, fruit, and spices from Vectra. I've been studying distilling. I may not look it, but I'm passionate about good alcohol! I chose this station because I believe I can make the best lotan vodka ever distilled. But I can't do that when I'm spending all day pouring drinks."

It was a lot to take in. Taryn's initial response was to scoff at the idea of pouring drinks for a pittance of nakas. He was supposed to be on his Journey, making his fortune, creating his own destiny. How could he do that at an out of the way station?

He wanted to scoff and walk out of the bar, but he didn't have many options. "Can I think about it and get back to you?"

The bartender gave him a knowing look, nodded, and said, "Take all the time you need."

---

It was official: no one would give Taryn a ride anywhere for free. No one was traveling to Vectra. No one was engaging in charity or loans. And he hadn't checked, but he didn't think anyone else would offer him a job either.

Taryn sat in the captain's chair. It was one of the mottos held throughout the galaxy: Within a man's home, he is king. This ship had been home for three years now. And Taryn felt like the king of nothing.

He sat there, paralyzed, seeing his life crumbled around him. He sat there for hours, thinking of everything and nothing. He might have sat there until the port authority came by to evict him from his dock, but a familiar sound broke his trance. A simple ding. A notification. He had a message.

It was another message from his parents. He couldn't remember the last time he'd read one of their messages. He was about to dismiss the notification and go back to his brooding, but either he had a last-minute change of heart, his finger slipped, or the computer decided to do what it thought was best. The message popped up on the main display.

Dear Taryn. We hope this message finds you well. And yes, it's the same message we've been sending for the past year. If you've already read it: you know you can ignore it. If you haven't: this has been a part of the tradition of the Journey for generations.

You're probably struggling right now. It's OK; we all have. It's not easy taking your first steps out into the real world. You thought you were ready. No one ever is. You haven't contacted us at all for the past 28 years. That's OK too; it's part of the Journey.

We both struggled. We both failed at first. It's OK. Don't give up. You'll find your way, and you'll be a better man for it.

You probably need money right now. Even if we knew which network to send it to, we wouldn't help. You need to find a way to succeed on your own. If we take that from you, we will have robbed you of the most valuable thing we could ever give you.

We love you. We believe in you. You will succeed.

It would be wonderful to hear from you when you're ready. But take your time.

Taryn reread the message a few times. He opened his message history, scrolled back, and started from the beginning. The initial messages from his parents, for the first few years of Vectra-local time, discussed minutiae of life. But after five years, this new message popped up. And every message since then was an exact copy.

There were tears on his face. He was exhausted, but he was no longer demoralized. He got up. He turned on the shower, shaved, dressed in his most formal attire, and strode back into the station. He walked into the bar.

"Thank you for the job offer. I appreciate the opportunity."

The bartender started. That apparently hadn't been the tone he'd been expecting. "Does that mean you'll accept?"

"I only have three questions. First: how much will you pay me?"

The bartender smiled. "I'll pay you 1.3 AMEs. That'll cover your expenses, if you stop wasting money on getting drunk each night, plus let you start saving up some money."

Taryn barely remembered the AME rate on this station, but it didn't really matter. "Thank you, that would be wonderful. And my second question: can I get an advance on my first paycheck? My port dues are up tomorrow, and I'm completely broke."

At this, the bartender chuckled. "I'll do you one better. I'll throw in your dock fees as part of the pay. The station administrator is a regular customer, he'll give me a discount. What's your last question?"

"What's your name?"

A smile spread over the bartender's face. "Jaxon," he said.

Taryn stuck out his hand with the awkward formality of someone unused to such efforts and said earnestly, "Nice to meet you, Jaxon. I'm Taryn."

Bio-age 27 years

Dear Mom and Dad, I turned 27 today! I know you won't get this for another two years, but thought you'd want to know. And yes, I'm close to Vectra. I've been on Titan Station for the past few months.

I know I didn't write for a while. Too long. I'm sorry. I was ashamed of myself. I failed at my Journey. I used up all my money, made terrible decisions, and went broke. I'm little more than a janitor. I was afraid to admit it. But your message helped. I hope I can make you both proud one day.

The message felt clunky. There was so much to say, so much emotion, so much guilt. He didn't know how to get it into words. His finger hovered over the delete button. Before he could talk himself out of it again, he hit send. At least that's over with.

Taryn had a daily routine now. His shift covered the afternoon and evening, leaving his mornings free. It turned out that there were lots of quality educational resources available on the station. He gladly paid a few thousand nakas per course. The first thing he'd looked for was a course on space trading. He'd never really thought about why someone would be willing to give him money for his goods, much less why they'd pay him more than he bought it for in the first place.

He learned how to browse the net and glean information on wants in other stations. It turned out that the closest station over--a place called Echo Relay, only 3 light-months away--was constantly complaining about the low-quality alcohol. He'd brought it up to Jaxon. "Tell you what. You set up the deal, I'll give you a 10% commission."

He'd sent off a proposal to a grocer on Echo Relay. He'd put together what he thought was a good offer. And he'd sent a few bottles of the newly distilled Jaxon's Lotan Vodka on a drone. At first, the thought of giving something away for free chafed. But it seemed like that's how business was done. And it seemed like a better usage of 500,000 nakas than buying a few drinks for random strangers.

It would still take at least two more months before he'd hear back from Echo. He'd also been researching any stations that may be interested in his cargo. He'd identified a station that looked promising. There was a station four light-months away that was having a Festival. Travelers would be flying in from up to ten lightyears away, and they all wanted to take home a souvenir. He was finalizing negotiations with a caravan heading off there to sell his artwork for a commission. It was risky; there was a chance they'd simply take the money and fly off, avoiding the negative reputation points long enough for them to wash off the net, but the artwork wasn't doing him any good here.

He wasn't the brilliant space trader he'd thought he would be. He wasn't a maverick at gambling. And he definitely wasn't suave with the ladies. But as he walked into the bar for his daily shift, he looked around, saw a beautifully arranged establishment, and felt an emotion he thought might be pride.

Bio-age 29 years

Hi again. I guess you guys are receiving my first message about now, it's been just over two years since I sent it. Funny how time works like that. I guess you're both used to it from your own Journeys. I have some good news to share. The trade deal with Echo Relay is still paying off. Jaxon doubled his business with that virtually overnight. My 10% has added up to a nice buffer for a rainy day. And I took a chance and offered my remaining spice and clothing cargo at a discount. I just got word back, and they're buying everything. I'm finally inventory free!

I've been learning a bit more about the distilling process, but I realized it's not really something I'm that excited about. As much as I love working at the bar, I think it's time that I moved away from an alcohol-focused business. I took an apprenticeship with some of the miners. They've been teaching me some basic grunt work. Apparently, they still need basic mechanics on these ships. I'm getting my Class 1 certification. I spoke with Jaxon about it, and he was very encouraging. He says he doesn't want to lose me, but I think he's secretly happy that I'm making more of myself. Or at least happy to get rid of me.

I dropped a case of Lotan Vodka in a drone last week, you should receive it a few weeks after this message. It's a gift, but it's more than that too. I think we could make even better vodka from the local lotans from our village. I checked the last few I had, and they have an unusual combination of flavonoids, plus a higher fructose content than the regular stuff that gets shipped off. I already spoke with Jaxon about it, and he'd be willing to buy 40 kilograms at 15% above standard rates. Would you be interested in making that trade happen? I'll attach a contract for payment from our end, the nakas are already in a custody contract.

It felt weird to be using his parents for a trade deal like this, but it was in line with the ethos they'd taught him. He wasn't trying to take advantage of them, he was trying to make a mutually beneficial arrangement. Everyone wins. His parents take a commission, Jaxon gets to make better alcohol he can sell at a higher price, and the customers on both Echo Relay and Titan Station would enjoy it more. That's when Taryn realized what he'd missed in his message.

If you can arrange the deal with a local farmer, I propose we split a 5% commission on the deal, 2.5% for me, 2.5% for you.

It definitely felt strange haggling with his parents. But he knew they would approve.

Bio-age 34 years

Hi Mom and Dad. I'm sorry for the delay in this message. As you know, my crew got shipped out to the titanium mines, and communications have been a bit delayed. I only got the message from Jaxon now about the shipment. He says he's started the distilling process, but this batch looks like it will be even better than the last one! He says business has been on a huge uptick since he switched lotan providers. Apparently, a bunch of the locals on Titan are planning on taking a vacation to Vectra to check out the orchards.

As for my work over here. They've upgraded me to chief welder. The pay increase is nice, but it doesn't compare to the commissions I'm making. I'm enjoying the work. Some of these asteroids have been really stubborn. It's been a real challenge breaking up the rocks. But according to my research, this cluster of asteroids should have a higher titanium content than the patch we were looking at previously. I have a deal with the captain that if I'm right about this, he'll let me pick the next spot and give me a 2% cut of the gross.

I love you both.

Taryn wasn't sure why, but he'd downplayed his excitement in that message. He'd developed a brand-new method for estimating mineral deposits in an asteroid. This had the potential to increase the productivity of his crew's operations by at least 25%. That was exciting, and the potential 2% cut was nice.

But he was discovering something new about himself. It wasn't the money that mattered. And it wasn't even what the money could buy that mattered. He'd realized at some point in the past three years that he could easily go back home and live in luxury off his parents any time he wanted.

But he didn't want that. He wanted to succeed. He wanted to make the galaxy a better place. And every naka he earned through his own labor meant someone, somewhere, believed that he had made their lives better. That's what excited him.

The crew quarters were much tighter than his luxurious rooms back on his ship, but he didn't mind. He spent most of his time in a spacesuit, in the mess hall with the rest of the crew, or on the bridge. He'd never felt this kind of camaraderie before, and he was loving it.

"So, today's the big day," called out Captain Voss as Taryn stepped onto the bridge. "Care for a friendly wager about whether your new method works?"

"That's kind of you, but are you really that eager to lose a bet?"

The crew laughed. Everyone knew how nervous Taryn was about this. He was putting up some bravado now, and they were letting him hold onto it. But this was probably the biggest moment of his life. At least up until this point.

"Captain, the charges are set, and the demolition crew is clear of the area. Waiting for your orders to detonate."

"Proceed."

Ten seconds later, a nearby asteroid split in half. There was no sound, of course. There's no medium to carry sound waves in space. He knew that now, but had been the butt of jokes for about two weeks for covering his ears during his first detonation. No one was laughing now. As much as they teased him, they knew that if his new estimation method worked, they'd all essentially get a 25% pay bump. More than that though, they were rooting for him.

"Debris field stabilized, Captain. Can I authorize the survey team to enter the area?"

"Yes, go ahead."

A series of communications ensued, but Taryn couldn't spare any attention for that. His eyes were fixed on the viewer. His hands were clenched. He was sweating. The sounds around him faded to silence in his focus. All he wanted to know was did it work?

After five agonizing minutes, he heard the radio receiver kick in. "Tell Taryn I owe him a round when we get back to Titan. The mineral density is within 0.05% of his estimates. Best concentration we've found in over a decade."

The entire bridge burst into cheers. Everyone but Taryn. He stood there, speechless. The captain said something about a bonus. It was some large number of nakas, but he didn't even hear how many.

All he could think was, I did it. I made the galaxy a better place.

Bio-age 35 years

That round of drinks had to wait almost eight months, but it was well worth it. Taryn walked into Jaxon's bar with the rest of his crew. There was a new bartender on duty, someone he hadn't met before. But Taryn had messaged Jaxon in advance, and he was there personally to greet him.

"So, you did it, eh?"

Taryn's face muscles couldn't quite open his mouth widely enough for his grin. "Yeah, I did it."

"I knew you had something. I'm glad you finally crawled your way out of the bottle. Now before you and your friends all climb back inside, I have a surprise for you."

Taryn hadn't been expecting that. He looked over the bar. He saw some new imported whiskeys on the shelf, as well as the standard Lotan Vodka that most people came in for. The tables were arranged a bit differently, the artwork slightly updated. Was it the music system? It seemed a bit clearer than last time he'd come in; maybe Jaxon had finally patched up that faulty third speaker.

"OK, I give up. What is it?"

Jaxon pulled out his comm and hit a button. After a moment's wait, he spoke into its microphone, "Yeah, he just got here, come on in whenever you're ready. Uh-huh. Got it." After clicking off and putting the device away, he continued, "They'll be here in a few minutes. Why don't I get you gentlemen started off with a round. I'm sure one of your shipmates already promised to pick up your tab tonight, but let me get the first one."

"Thank you, Jaxon. Truly, thank you for everything. I wouldn't have made it without you."

Jaxon grinned, then called out to the bartender, "Give these gentlemen a drink! My treat!"

Taryn no longer drank like he used to. He'd engage in the occasional social affair, but he no longer needed to dull his senses. As a result, while the rest of his crew was finishing their second drinks, he'd barely gotten through half of his first when the surprise guests walked in.

"Hi Taryn." He knew that voice. He turned around, and there stood his parents. They must have experienced forty bio-years since he last saw them, but they looked barely aged. The wonders of modern medicine. "It's good to see you."

Taryn jumped up. "Mom, Dad, I... I... I didn't expect to see you!"

"Well, it's usually frowned upon to come home early from a Journey," his father said. "But no one ever said home can't come to you."

For him, 12 bio-years had passed. When he'd set off, he'd been arrogant, certain of his future success, and dismissive of his parents and their purported wisdom. Now it was a different story. He'd failed. And then he'd succeeded. He was a man standing on his own merits. He walked over to them and grabbed them both in a tight embrace. "It's so good to see you."

---

His crew had shooed him off pretty quickly after that. Taryn offered to treat his parents to dinner at the local restaurant. "Another time," Kaelin said. "Let's go back to our ship instead."

Sure enough, they'd brought the entire main house with them. After all, why not? Antimatter was cheap, one may as well travel in comfort. Not to mention bringing along Taryn's old bedroom. Like no time had passed at all, they all stood around in the kitchen together, taking turns chopping, peeling, stirring, seasoning. They never stopped talking.

They wanted to know everything about his new discovery. It was clear partway through his explanation that they had no idea what he was talking about. Both of them had focused more on trade during their Journeys. They hadn't gone deep into the science or engineering fields. Apparently, they'd been doing a bit of reading since they got his first message detailing his plans. However, due to the time dilation from travel, they'd only had about three months to try and catch up. Nonetheless, they listened eagerly to everything he had to say.

At some point the conversation shifted and they talked about home, and about friends he'd left behind. He could have checked up on his friends any time on their Notes; he was close enough now that most messages got relayed to his network. But he'd been too busy. And it meant more hearing it from his parents.

When they eventually sat down to eat, he turned to the question most pressing on his mind. "I need your advice on what I should do next."

"No, you don't son," Kaelin said firmly. "You've proven that over the past twelve years. You don't need us at all."

Taryn thought about that. "You're right. I don't need your advice. But I'd really like it."

They both smiled. "OK, with what?"

"I've developed this technology. It will increase mining productivity anywhere it's used. What should I do next?"

"You could just give the technology away," his mother began. "You'd lose out on a small potential fortune though."

"Yes, I thought of that. I also thought of patenting and licensing the tech, but lots of the outer systems don't abide by the patent treaty. It would basically amount to the same thing: giving away the technology."

Kaelon took on a bemused look. "So why not simply give it away? It will make the galaxy a better place, right?"

Taryn thought about it. There was logic to that. And he didn't need the money, his existing commission deals were supplying far more revenue than he knew what to do with, and his accounts had grown enough that he'd started keeping spare nakas in neighboring networks just to spread his risk of network failure around a bit.

But he knew why his father looked bemused. "No, I don't think so. No one will build these devices as well as I can. And I know with the right resources, I can improve the technology even more."

"Well then, let's figure out how to turn your idea into a business. But we want official advisor titles in the new company, plus 2% of the shares each."

"Done." And as the night went on, he realized that 4% of the company was a small price to pay for the insight they gave him.

Bio-age 49 years

"Sir," began the new secretary.

"Taryn," Taryn interrupted.

"Taryn? Oh, I see. Taryn, we just received reports back from the Polaris Array mining colony. It seems that the first prototypes you sent out were a success."

Taryn should have breathed a sigh of relief. He'd sent those prototypes off with some of his best men over six years ago. He'd considered going with, but his labs were far more interesting and would benefit more from his attention than a simple device installation.

"Wonderful. What was the estimated increase in mining efficiency?"

"Well, sir, I mean, Taryn. Well, Taryn, they primarily mine aluminum, which seems to show an even greater efficiency improvement than the titanium mines did. They completed ten separate missions with the device, and in aggregate they increased productivity on this venture by 42%."

Well that was certainly something. "Just imagine when we send out the gen 3 units. They still haven't even received the gen 2s! How much did we take in from this?"

"Your negotiator worked out pretty good terms. They agreed to give you 50% of the increased mining load, which works out to 21% of the old haul. It looks like a normal haul previously netted 6,000 megagrams, giving you 1,260 megagrams of raw aluminum. The team decided to sell on-site, they figured you could use the money more than the aluminum."

"So how much did we net?"

"Total expenditure for the trip, outside of research costs, came in at 15 billion nakas. At current rates, the haul came out to... ouch, only 2 billion nakas. I'm sorry sir."

"Taryn please. And nothing to apologize for. This is the first venture of many. Those devices will last years."

The secretary paused for a moment. "I'm sorry, but I don't quite understand something. What stops the miners from simply using your device without sending you your commission?"

"You mean besides the reputational damage from contract violation?"

The secretary blushed a bit. "Yes, Taryn, besides that."

"Easy." Taryn thought back to that conversation with his parents fourteen years ago. "We're going to keep improving the tech, and they know it. They'll happily keep paying for the tech, knowing they'll keep getting better toys in the future."

It all seemed so simple now. Why try to stop someone from cheating, when you could simply make it more lucrative to be honest?

Bio-age 62 years

Taryn's ship touched down on Novara. Amazing, after almost 40 years I finally made it here. He'd been tempted to settle down on Vectra, but it hadn't seemed right. No one could claim he'd failed at his Journey anymore, but going back home still felt like some strange admission of defeat.

But those were just vestiges of the immature thoughts he'd had at the start of his Journey. Now that he was ready to complete it and settle down, his motivations were much more simple. He'd found a beautiful plot of land on Novara. It was close to some major scientific institutes, which would be good fodder for his research labs.

Most of all, his wife, Elara, loved Novara. Turns out, even though it was an industrial hub, the planet itself was gorgeous.

He glanced over at his wife, still holding their new baby daughter. She was barely two months old. The labor had started a bit early, and they'd needed to initiate a time-dilation jump so they could make it to a well-stocked medical facility quickly enough. Thankfully, it all went smoothly, and both Elara and little Nyra were doing great. To top it all off, his team had finished the arrangements to bring the rest of the research facility planetside while he was gone. They'd likely be arriving in the next few days.

Taryn stepped out of his ship, his home. They'd had to buy some additions to accommodate the family they were anticipating, but that was money well spent. And money well earned. He could be happy with what he had.

Bio-age 73 years

"You know honey, I never even met my grandparents. Both of my parents Journeyed from thousands of lightyears away."

"Does that mean they did better at their Journey than you did?" Nyra, now eleven years old, asked.

Elara had been about to scold Nyra, but Taryn quickly defused the situation with a quiet chuckle. "You could say that I guess, but I don't think so. It's not about how far you travel. Or even how much money you make along the way. It's about the Journey itself."

As much as an eleven-year-old can ponder a deep idea, Nyra did so. All the way until they saw a spot in the sky. "Is that them?" she asked excitedly.

"Yes, I think it is," Taryn said with a grin.

"How long has it been since you've seen them?" asked Elara.

"Wow, I guess it's been almost 40 years! They've been traveling most of that time though, so they probably haven't aged much. Only 110 or so."

The ship touching down was, in fact, his parents. He let Nyra run up to them first. They'd sent plenty of videos back and forth, so she felt like she almost knew them already.

Taryn didn't know how long his parents planned on staying. For all he knew, they'd leave that night, or in a year, or never. They might go back to Vectra, or explore space, or even go back to their original home worlds for a visit. They still had so many years left.

And for that matter, so did he.

Bio-age 90 years

Taryn sat at a beautiful table, at the grandest banquet hall he could find. That hall happened to be in an orbiting station, so that's where they did the ceremony. It was a bit of an expense, but if you didn't spend money on a moment like this, when would you?

Everyone gathered knew who he was. If they didn't, his seat at the head table made it clear he was important. So, when he stood up, the entire room went quiet.

"I remember when I left on my journey. It feels like a thousand years ago now." Everyone looked a little perplexed at that. "Or, at least, a hundred or so." This time, they all laughed. He could see Nyra slightly rolling her eyes. That was OK.

"Journey isn't just about adventure. It's about growth. About knowledge. About meeting and learning from others. Not everyone is cut out for it." At this point, Taryn paused. He looked Nyra directly in the eye. His eyes teared up ever so slightly.

He reached down to the table, carefully picked up his glass, and held it aloft. "To my eldest daughter, Nyra. I'm so proud that you've decided to go on a Journey as well. We're going to miss you. Godspeed!" With that, all the assembled guests, all of Nyra's friends and family, virtually everyone who meant anything to her, raised their glasses in unison and toasted her successful Journey.

The End

This completes the first short story in the Galactic Silk Road universe.

@ ee90543f:9363457f

В Москве открылся первый спортивный комплекс, полностью оснащенный экологически-дружелюбными технологиями. Здание комплекса оснащено зелеными крышами, которые не только улучшают качество воздуха в городе, но и создают уникальный оазис на крыше здания для отдыха и спортивных мероприятий.

Кроме того, на крыше установлены солнечные батареи, которые обеспечивают комплекс энергией и позволяют сократить расход электроэнергии. Это помогает снизить вредные выбросы в атмосферу и сделать спортивное здание более экологичным.

Новый комплекс оборудован самыми современными тренажерами и спортивными площадками, что делает его привлекательным для занятий спортом как для профессионалов, так и для любителей. Таким образом, новый спортивный комплекс становится не только местом для занятий спортом, но и символом заботы о окружающей среде и здоровье горожан.

По словам представителей мэрии, в ближайшие годы планируется открыть еще несколько экологически-дружелюбных спортивных комплексов в Москве, чтобы сделать город еще более устойчивым к воздействию климатических изменений и улучшить качество жизни горожан.

@ fe32298e:20516265

Today I learned how to install NVapi to monitor my GPUs in Home Assistant.

NVApi is a lightweight API designed for monitoring NVIDIA GPU utilization and enabling automated power management. It provides real-time GPU metrics, supports integration with tools like Home Assistant, and offers flexible power management and PCIe link speed management based on workload and thermal conditions.

• GPU Utilization Monitoring: Utilization, memory usage, temperature, fan speed, and power consumption.
• Automated Power Limiting: Adjusts power limits dynamically based on temperature thresholds and total power caps, configurable per GPU or globally.
• Cross-GPU Coordination: Total power budget applies across multiple GPUs in the same system.
• PCIe Link Speed Management: Controls minimum and maximum PCIe link speeds with idle thresholds for power optimization.
• Home Assistant Integration: Uses the built-in RESTful platform and template sensors.

Getting the Data

sudo apt install golang-go git clone https://github.com/sammcj/NVApi.git cd NVapi go run main.go -port 9999 -rate 1 curl http://localhost:9999/gpu

Response for a single GPU: [ { "index": 0, "name": "NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090", "gpu_utilisation": 0, "memory_utilisation": 0, "power_watts": 16, "power_limit_watts": 450, "memory_total_gb": 23.99, "memory_used_gb": 0.46, "memory_free_gb": 23.52, "memory_usage_percent": 2, "temperature": 38, "processes": [], "pcie_link_state": "not managed" } ]

Response for multiple GPUs: [ { "index": 0, "name": "NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3090", "gpu_utilisation": 0, "memory_utilisation": 0, "power_watts": 14, "power_limit_watts": 350, "memory_total_gb": 24, "memory_used_gb": 0.43, "memory_free_gb": 23.57, "memory_usage_percent": 2, "temperature": 36, "processes": [], "pcie_link_state": "not managed" }, { "index": 1, "name": "NVIDIA RTX A4000", "gpu_utilisation": 0, "memory_utilisation": 0, "power_watts": 10, "power_limit_watts": 140, "memory_total_gb": 15.99, "memory_used_gb": 0.56, "memory_free_gb": 15.43, "memory_usage_percent": 3, "temperature": 41, "processes": [], "pcie_link_state": "not managed" } ]

Start at Boot

Create /etc/systemd/system/nvapi.service:

``` [Unit] Description=Run NVapi After=network.target

[Service] Type=simple Environment="GOPATH=/home/ansible/go" WorkingDirectory=/home/ansible/NVapi ExecStart=/usr/bin/go run main.go -port 9999 -rate 1 Restart=always User=ansible

Environment="GPU_TEMP_CHECK_INTERVAL=5"

Environment="GPU_TOTAL_POWER_CAP=400"

Environment="GPU_0_LOW_TEMP=40"

Environment="GPU_0_MEDIUM_TEMP=70"

Environment="GPU_0_LOW_TEMP_LIMIT=135"

Environment="GPU_0_MEDIUM_TEMP_LIMIT=120"

Environment="GPU_0_HIGH_TEMP_LIMIT=100"

Environment="GPU_1_LOW_TEMP=45"

Environment="GPU_1_MEDIUM_TEMP=75"

Environment="GPU_1_LOW_TEMP_LIMIT=140"

Environment="GPU_1_MEDIUM_TEMP_LIMIT=125"

Environment="GPU_1_HIGH_TEMP_LIMIT=110"

[Install] WantedBy=multi-user.target ```

Home Assistant

Add to Home Assistant configuration.yaml and restart HA (completely).

For a single GPU, this works: ``` sensor: - platform: rest name: MYPC GPU Information resource: http://mypc:9999 method: GET headers: Content-Type: application/json value_template: "{{ value_json[0].index }}" json_attributes: - name - gpu_utilisation - memory_utilisation - power_watts - power_limit_watts - memory_total_gb - memory_used_gb - memory_free_gb - memory_usage_percent - temperature scan_interval: 1 # seconds

• platform: template sensors: mypc_gpu_0_gpu: friendly_name: "MYPC {{ state_attr('sensor.mypc_gpu_information', 'name') }} GPU" value_template: "{{ state_attr('sensor.mypc_gpu_information', 'gpu_utilisation') }}" unit_of_measurement: "%" mypc_gpu_0_memory: friendly_name: "MYPC {{ state_attr('sensor.mypc_gpu_information', 'name') }} Memory" value_template: "{{ state_attr('sensor.mypc_gpu_information', 'memory_utilisation') }}" unit_of_measurement: "%" mypc_gpu_0_power: friendly_name: "MYPC {{ state_attr('sensor.mypc_gpu_information', 'name') }} Power" value_template: "{{ state_attr('sensor.mypc_gpu_information', 'power_watts') }}" unit_of_measurement: "W" mypc_gpu_0_power_limit: friendly_name: "MYPC {{ state_attr('sensor.mypc_gpu_information', 'name') }} Power Limit" value_template: "{{ state_attr('sensor.mypc_gpu_information', 'power_limit_watts') }}" unit_of_measurement: "W" mypc_gpu_0_temperature: friendly_name: "MYPC {{ state_attr('sensor.mypc_gpu_information', 'name') }} Temperature" value_template: "{{ state_attr('sensor.mypc_gpu_information', 'temperature') }}" unit_of_measurement: "°C" ```

For multiple GPUs: ``` rest: scan_interval: 1 resource: http://mypc:9999 sensor: - name: "MYPC GPU0 Information" value_template: "{{ value_json[0].index }}" json_attributes_path: "$.0" json_attributes: - name - gpu_utilisation - memory_utilisation - power_watts - power_limit_watts - memory_total_gb - memory_used_gb - memory_free_gb - memory_usage_percent - temperature - name: "MYPC GPU1 Information" value_template: "{{ value_json[1].index }}" json_attributes_path: "$.1" json_attributes: - name - gpu_utilisation - memory_utilisation - power_watts - power_limit_watts - memory_total_gb - memory_used_gb - memory_free_gb - memory_usage_percent - temperature

• platform: template sensors: mypc_gpu_0_gpu: friendly_name: "MYPC GPU0 GPU" value_template: "{{ state_attr('sensor.mypc_gpu0_information', 'gpu_utilisation') }}" unit_of_measurement: "%" mypc_gpu_0_memory: friendly_name: "MYPC GPU0 Memory" value_template: "{{ state_attr('sensor.mypc_gpu0_information', 'memory_utilisation') }}" unit_of_measurement: "%" mypc_gpu_0_power: friendly_name: "MYPC GPU0 Power" value_template: "{{ state_attr('sensor.mypc_gpu0_information', 'power_watts') }}" unit_of_measurement: "W" mypc_gpu_0_power_limit: friendly_name: "MYPC GPU0 Power Limit" value_template: "{{ state_attr('sensor.mypc_gpu0_information', 'power_limit_watts') }}" unit_of_measurement: "W" mypc_gpu_0_temperature: friendly_name: "MYPC GPU0 Temperature" value_template: "{{ state_attr('sensor.mypc_gpu0_information', 'temperature') }}" unit_of_measurement: "C"

• platform: template sensors: mypc_gpu_1_gpu: friendly_name: "MYPC GPU1 GPU" value_template: "{{ state_attr('sensor.mypc_gpu1_information', 'gpu_utilisation') }}" unit_of_measurement: "%" mypc_gpu_1_memory: friendly_name: "MYPC GPU1 Memory" value_template: "{{ state_attr('sensor.mypc_gpu1_information', 'memory_utilisation') }}" unit_of_measurement: "%" mypc_gpu_1_power: friendly_name: "MYPC GPU1 Power" value_template: "{{ state_attr('sensor.mypc_gpu1_information', 'power_watts') }}" unit_of_measurement: "W" mypc_gpu_1_power_limit: friendly_name: "MYPC GPU1 Power Limit" value_template: "{{ state_attr('sensor.mypc_gpu1_information', 'power_limit_watts') }}" unit_of_measurement: "W" mypc_gpu_1_temperature: friendly_name: "MYPC GPU1 Temperature" value_template: "{{ state_attr('sensor.mypc_gpu1_information', 'temperature') }}" unit_of_measurement: "C"

```

Basic entity card: type: entities entities: - entity: sensor.mypc_gpu_0_gpu secondary_info: last-updated - entity: sensor.mypc_gpu_0_memory secondary_info: last-updated - entity: sensor.mypc_gpu_0_power secondary_info: last-updated - entity: sensor.mypc_gpu_0_power_limit secondary_info: last-updated - entity: sensor.mypc_gpu_0_temperature secondary_info: last-updated

Ansible Role

```

• name: install go become: true package: name: golang-go state: present

• name: git clone git: repo: "https://github.com/sammcj/NVApi.git" dest: "/home/ansible/NVapi" update: yes force: true

go run main.go -port 9999 -rate 1

• name: install systemd service become: true copy: src: nvapi.service dest: /etc/systemd/system/nvapi.service

• name: Reload systemd daemons, enable, and restart nvapi become: true systemd: name: nvapi daemon_reload: yes enabled: yes state: restarted ```

@ ee90543f:9363457f

Сегодня в Москве была официально представлена обновленная система образования, которая сочетает в себе удаленное и очное обучение.

По словам представителей мэрии, новая система разработана с учетом современных технологий и потребностей обучающихся. Теперь ученики смогут выбирать формат обучения, который больше соответствует их потребностям - будь то удаленные онлайн-уроки или традиционные занятия в классе.

Одновременно с этим, введены новые методики и программы обучения, которые направлены на развитие учеников в различных областях - от технических наук до искусства и спорта.

Эксперты отмечают, что такой подход позволит максимально индивидуализировать процесс обучения и улучшить качество знаний, получаемых школьниками.

Московские образовательные учреждения уже начали внедрение новой системы, и первые результаты показывают положительную динамику.

@ e3ba5e1a:5e433365

We all know and love our 12 (or 24) word seed phrases. They’re the basis of how most of us secure our Bitcoin (or other crypto holdings, more on that in a bit). Following up on a discussion of a recent Ledger hardware wallet phishing attack, I wanted to put together a quick post explaining how seed phrases work and the connection with other chains. Since most of the content is chain-agnostic, I'll mostly be talking about "blockchains" instead of Bitcoin.

This will be semi-technical, caveat emptor!

Public key cryptographic primitives

Private key cryptography allows for two pairs of operations:

• Encrypting a message using a public key, and decrypting it using the corresponding private key.
• Signing a message using a private key, and validating the signature using the corresponding public key.

Encryption is very rarely used in blockchains. Instead, signing of messages is the primary feature we use from private key cryptography. There are lots of different algorithms out there, but a bit of pseudocode will explain the high level concepts pretty well:

myPrivateKey := something // we'll explain where this comes from below myPublicKey := derivePublicKey(myPrivateKey) someMessage := b"deadbeef" // any arbitrary binary payload signature := signMessage(someMessage, myPrivateKey) isValid := validateSignature(someMessage, signature, myPublicKey)

The point here is that I can safely share my public key with the rest of the world, and the rest of the world cannot figure out what the corresponding private key is (at least before the heat death of the universe, assuming the cryptography is well designed). Then, using my private key, I can prove that a message was sent by someone who controls that private key. And anyone in the world can validate it.

For the blockchain, this is the basis for signing transactions and sending funds. If I have 2 BTC, and I want to send 1 BTC to Alice, I can sign a transaction using my private key, and the network will know that the owner of the 2 BTC created that transaction.

You might challenge this, and say that the private key could be hacked. This is true, and people lose funds like this all the time. This is another "feature" of the blockchain: whoever controls the keys controls the funds. Thus the phrase: not your keys, not your coins. This is a big difference between blockchain and TradFi (traditional finance). If someone hacks into my bank account and sends all my money to someone else, I'll probably be able to get the money back. On the blockchain, if they have your keys, your money is gone.

The question is: where do the private keys come from? One possibility is to generate and store individual private keys for each and every wallet on each and every chain you ever use. But this would be a pain. The biggest pain would be with Bitcoin itself, where---for privacy reasons---we generally like to generate separate receiving and change addresses each time we receive and send funds. Having to write down each of those private keys separately would be a pain. We need a better system.

Seed phrases

A seed phrase is usually a set of 12 or 24 English words, taken from a dictionary of 1,024 words available. Seed phrases are specified by BIP-39, if you want to look up more details. Using that set of words, you can generate a large number. We call this large number the entropy, or the source of random data, that we use in the rest of our operations. In particular, this large number can be used to derive a private key using derivation paths.

Derivation paths are another part of the BIP-39 standard. These look like m/44'/118'/0'/0/0. You can see more information on them in BIP-44. But the basic idea is that you can take that big number from the seed phrase and generate a large number of different private keys.

The different numbers in the derivation path indicate what path to use to produce a private key from this large number. The first number, 44, indicates the version of the standard. The next number is the coin type. In the example above, I used 118, which is the default coin type for the Cosmos ecosystem. 60 is used in the Ethereum space, by contrast. And as the granddaddy of them all, Bitcoin holds the spot of honor at coin type 0. For a full list, check SLIP-44.

Other numbers in that list can be used for deriving a wider range of wallets within the same coin type. In particular, the last 0 is typically called the index, and can be used for creating numbered accounts. Some common use cases:

• Having a single seed phrase for bots, but allowing the bots to manage multiple wallets.
• Using a single hardware wallet (like a Ledger) but managing multiple accounts.
• Generating a sequence of receiving and change addresses when interacting with the Bitcoin blockchain, in order to maintain some privacy.

bech32

bech32 is a standard for representing binary data. It's not worth going into the details of how bech32 works here, but the important point is that it provides for a human readable part (HRP) and a payload, and that the payload includes a checksum to avoid transcription errors. bech32 is used throughout the Cosmos ecosystem for encoding addresses.

You can use an online encoder to get a feel for this. As an example, if I specify an HRP of snoy and a payload of deadbeef, I get the wallet address snoy1m6kmamcdn8yec. Note that the 1 here represents the separation between the HRP and the encoded data.

The question is: what data should we use for the payload? The obvious answer there would be the public key. Unfortunately public keys are large, and embedding an entire public key in the wallet address wouldn't scale well. Instead, we use a more complicated algorithm in most blockchains, including Bitcoin. You can see more information on the bech32 Bitcoin wiki page, which involves compressing keys and hashing with both the SHA256 and RIPEMD-160 algorithms.

Bitcoin and other chains

If you use most blockchain software (hardware wallets, software wallets, etc.), they'll use the standard coin types for the chain in question. You can always override that, and you can also choose to modify the index are any of the other numbers in the derivation path. The result will be a completely different private key, and therefore a completely different public key. If you use hardened components in your derivation path, it should be impossible for someone to find a connection between two generated public keys, thus giving you the privacy guarantees most Bitcoin wallet software provides with extra receiving and change addresses.

This is also where xpub comes in with Bitcoin. For non-hardened subpaths, you can generate the full sequence of public keys from the xpub value. This allows you to get a read-only wallet that can generate all of the receiving and change addresses, without having to compromise your seed phrase or any private keys.

The Ledger phishing attack

Now that we've seen all that, let's come back to the Ledger phishing attack I linked at the beginning of this article. The way a Ledger hardware device is supposed to work is that the seed phrase and any generated private keys never leave the device. Instead, the private key is generated on the device and used to sign messages your computer sends over. If that's true, even if you are scammed out of some funds by mistakenly signing a message you shouldn't have, the damage is limited to that one message. Your seed phrase and private key should be safe.

We also know that the Ledger devices don't fully work this way. The firmware on the device does in fact allow exporting the seed phrases for Ledger's recovery system. However, that should be a feature that needs explicit buy-in from the device's owner to activate.

So how exactly did the user in question lose funds on the Bitcoin chain because of a phishing attack on Ethereum? I personally can only see three choices:

1. The user is lying and stole the funds himself
2. The user screwed up and lost their seed phrase and doesn't realize it
3. There's a fundamental security flaw in Ledger which allows the private keys and/or seed phrases to be taken off the device

My bet is on (2), simply because it's simpler to assume that someone made a mistake than a device used to secure likely billions of dollars in funds has been compromised without massive reports of scams. But that's little more than conjecture on my part.

So should you ditch your Ledger and move your funds to a different hardware wallet? I wouldn't do that yet. What I would recommend, however, would be to upgrade your Bitcoin storage from a single hardware wallet to a multisig for better security. I'll put out another article on that process another time.

@ ee90543f:9363457f

В рамках разработки Стратегии развития образования года Министерство просвещения России объявило о необходимости значительных изменений в подготовке педагогических кадров. Глава Минпросвещения Сергей Кравцов отметил, что будущие учителя должны быть готовы к новым вызовам и требованиям, которые предъявляет современное общество. Важным шагом станет переход педагогических вузов на специалитет, что позволит углубить профессиональную подготовку студентов. Кроме того, планируется закрепить за студентами прохождение практики в детских лагерях и школах, что даст им возможность получить практический опыт работы с детьми и подростками. Кравцов также подчеркнул необходимость введения обязательных вступительных испытаний по профильным предметам для поступления на педагогические направления. Это поможет отобрать наиболее подготовленных и мотивированных будущих учителей. Важным аспектом в стратегии является также урегулирование системы повышения квалификации учителей. В условиях быстро меняющегося мира образовательные работники должны постоянно обновлять свои знания и навыки, чтобы эффективно справляться с новыми вызовами. Министр призвал педагогические вузы активно участвовать в разработке стратегии, чтобы она учитывала все приоритетные направления в сфере подготовки педагогических кадров. Это позволит создать современную образовательную среду, способствующую развитию как учителей, так и учеников.

@ 6ad3e2a3:c90b7740

I believe in the notion of truth. Not merely propositional truth like 2 + 2 = 4, though that too, but also the idea that what someone says can be authentic, profound and true.

Another aspect of truth is beauty. I think music can be harmonious and art aesthetically true. I don’t claim to have special knowledge over what is true, beautiful or harmonious, only that those things exist, and human beings can discern them. I also believe in justice which in my view is moral truth.

Truth, beauty and justice exist even if we are not personally able to recognize them. In other words, while they are perceptible to human beings generally, any particular person or group might miss them.

One example that comes to mind is if you renovate a home. You and your architect might disagree about the layout. Imagine he persuades you to trust him, and you discover he was correct, the house is more harmonious, proportionate and beautiful than had you done it your way. The aesthetic truth for that house was not what you had imagined, but it existed, and you were lucky someone else had the eye for it.

. . .

I don’t write much about what’s going on in Israel and Palestine because I’m not interested in it. I’m not interested in it because it doesn’t affect my immediate existence, and those who are interested in it mostly seem to be closed-minded and emotional about the topic. Because I am not into it, I am not especially informed, nor am I inclined to inform myself better. As far as I can tell, it’s a depressing and tiresome argument between two miserable factions.

That said, the topic sometimes comes up in part because I’m Jewish and know a lot of Jews who care about it and also because I follow people on Twitter on both sides who also care about it. For that reason, I’m aware of some of the narratives that are presented and consequently I’ve formulated two main ideas about it, two axioms, so to speak:

(1) Whatever is the just (morally true) result — whether Israel shutting down and leaving the region, Israel conquering and annexing Palestinian territories entirely, or more likely something in between — that's what I would like to see happen.

In other words, no matter how much anyone in particular might disagree with it, the just result, whatever it might be, is the outcome for which I’m rooting.

People will argue for what they think is just based on various narratives, but I hope for what is actually just, irrespective of those narratives. And I believe such a result must exist, even though I am in no position whatsoever to say what that result would be.

(2) To the extent some people think Palestinians are incorrigible barbaric terrorists and others think Israel (and even "the Jews" more broadly) are incorrigible genocidal maniacs, consider that sense of incorrigibility is directed by both parties at both parties.

In other words, at least one of you* incorrectly believes the other is inherently beyond redemption, and just as they would be mistaken in believing that about you, you could also be mistaken in believing it about them. In fact, the greater your certainty about their inherent evil, the more difficult it is for you to course-correct, and the closer to their description you actually become. Paradoxically, the more sure you are of who they are, the more correct they are about you.

Before anything approaching a concrete answer to this problem can emerge, I think it's important to realize (1) A just outcome that does not depend on anyone's narrative exists; and (2) That the extent to which you view your adversaries as beyond redemption you most resemble their description of you.

If we accept these two axioms, that justice is possible, and that viewing the other side as incorrigible is a hallmark of one’s own zealotry, we have established the ground upon which a solution is possible. If we reject them, no amount of discussion will ever bear fruit.

*Some people might think both are beyond redemption, in which case this post is moot, and there is no just outcome, only might makes right. I think that kind of cynicism is the road to hell.

@ ee90543f:9363457f

В столице России наблюдается значительный сдвиг в подходах к питанию, который формируется под влиянием технологий и растущего интереса к местным продуктам.

Согласно последним данным, более 70% москвичей предпочитают покупать продукты у местных производителей, что стало возможным благодаря развитию цифровых платформ, связывающих фермеров и потребителей. Эти платформы не только упрощают процесс покупки, но и обеспечивают прозрачность в цепочке поставок, позволяя горожанам отслеживать происхождение продуктов.

Технологии также играют ключевую роль в приготовлении пищи. Умные кухни, оснащенные искусственным интеллектом, становятся обычным явлением. Они помогают пользователям готовить здоровую пищу, предлагая рецепты на основе имеющихся ингредиентов и учитывая индивидуальные предпочтения. Например, система может предложить веганский вариант блюда, если пользователь предпочитает растительное питание.

Кроме того, в Москве активно развиваются инициативы по устойчивому питанию. Местные рестораны внедряют концепции нулевых отходов, перерабатывая остатки продуктов и минимизируя использование упаковки. Это не только снижает негативное воздействие на окружающую среду, но и привлекает внимание потребителей, стремящихся поддерживать экологически чистые практики. Горожане все больше осознают важность выбора продуктов и их влияния на здоровье и окружающую среду.

@ 4870d550:110d6208

From Trey Walsh, Executive Director of The Progressive Bitcoiner

Quite popular in the news recently, particular in left leaning circles, has been the topic of crypto’s influence in this recent U.S. election, the hundreds of millions spent on this election from crypto PACs. and the Bitcoin strategic reserve idea being floated by the Trump admin, some members of congress and some within the Bitcoin industry. This has also resurfaced some myths seemingly projecting progressives’ disdain for Trump and billionaires onto Bitcoin — the open source protocol and neutral technology that has no political ideology or worldview. My friend Jason Maier and I predicted this may happen this past summer when Trump saw an opportunity to garner more of the crypto vote after Biden, and then Harris, fumbled the opportunity. While I continue to hope progressives can, as I myself did back in 2021, look past some of Bitcoin’s biggest proponents in the U.S. and see the vast, global picture of this freedom technology, in the era of Trump 2.0 there is more work than ever to be done to educate and convince progressives that Bitcoin is for them, too. We’ll tackle that head on here at The Progressive Bitcoiner.

There is a long history of cryptography, cypherpunk movements, and technological advances in digital cash and encryption that led to the creation of Bitcoin. It was not an overnight invention, but rather the culmination of decades of advances in this space. After the Bitcoin white paper, which I encourage you to read in full, was published on October 31, 2008, Bitcoin emerged when Satoshi Nakamoto, the pseudonymous creator of Bitcoin, mined the first genesis block on January 3, 2009. This was in the wake of the fallout of the 2008 global financial crisis, when trust in traditional banking and government systems was at an all-time low. Satoshi directly referenced this crisis in the Bitcoin genesis block, embedding the text:

“The Times 03/Jan/2009 Chancellor on brink of second bailout for banks.”

You remember 2008, with the subprime mortgage crises, collapse of the housing market, bank bailouts, global recession, and where Wall Street greed and unethical practice was rewarded by bailouts for the rich while everyday people suffered, many catastrophically…right? So imagine, Satoshi chose to directly reference these events in the genesis block, by design. Bitcoin’s decentralized nature was designed to bypass corrupt institutions and give individuals control over their money, challenging centralized power structures (such as corruption via the too-big-to-fail banks and government coordination), promoting financial inclusion, and providing an alternative to the inequities of the traditional financial system that were so massively exposed in 2008. Sounds like a pretty incredible tool for progressives to utilize and build a movement around if you ask me.

Now let’s look to Satoshi’s white paper to see what Bitcoin is and what it’s original use and purpose was that may help progressives see the forest through the trees (trees currently being distractions like election, politicians and billionaires we don’t like, etc). I’ve pulled out some quotes directly from the white paper that may be of particular interest to progressives skeptical of Bitcoin’s use outside of the uber-wealthy, politics, and speculation by greedy crypto bros.

1. Eliminating Intermediaries “What is needed is an electronic payment system based on cryptographic proof instead of trust, allowing any two willing parties to transact directly with each other without the need for a trusted third party.” This speaks to removing power from centralized banks and financial institutions, which have historically exploited the public for profit. Bitcoin enables peer-to-peer transactions, empowering individuals to take control of their own money without relying on corrupt intermediaries.

2. Financial Inclusion and Decentralization “The network is robust in its unstructured simplicity. Nodes work all at once with little coordination. They do not need to be identified, since messages are not routed to any particular place and only need to be delivered on a best-effort basis.” Bitcoin’s decentralized network ensures that no single entity or government can control it. This creates an open, borderless financial system accessible to everyone, including the unbanked and underbanked.

3. Protection from Inflation and Manipulation “The steady addition of a constant amount of new coins is analogous to gold miners expending resources to add gold to circulation. In our case, it is CPU time and electricity that is expended.” Bitcoin’s fixed supply of 21 million coins prevents inflation caused by reckless money printing, a practice that disproportionately harms the poor and working class by devaluing their savings and purchasing power.

4. Reducing Fraud and Exploitation “Merchants must be wary of their customers, hassling them for more information than they would otherwise need. A certain percentage of fraud is accepted as unavoidable.” Why It Matters for Progressives: Bitcoin transactions are secure, irreversible, and fraud-resistant. This protects individuals and small businesses from exploitation by large corporations or fraudulent actors.

5. Empowering Privacy and Freedom “We propose a solution to the double-spending problem using a peer-to-peer network. The network timestamps transactions by hashing them into an ongoing chain of hash-based proof-of-work, forming a record that cannot be changed without redoing the proof-of-work.” Bitcoin’s blockchain creates transparency without sacrificing individual privacy. It empowers people to own their financial data, reducing surveillance by corporations or governments. New and better tools for privacy are built every month in the Bitcoin ecosystem.

6. Fair Access and Decentralized Security “The proof-of-work also solves the problem of determining representation in majority decision making. If the majority were based on one-IP-address-one-vote, it could be subverted by anyone able to allocate many IPs. Proof-of-work is essentially one-CPU-one-vote.” This reinforces fairness in decision-making within the Bitcoin network. Power is distributed based on effort (proof-of-work), not centralized control or wealth.

7. Financial Sovereignty and Empowerment “With e-currency based on cryptographic proof, without the need to trust a third party, money can be secure and transactions effortless.” Bitcoin removes the barriers and risks imposed by banks and governments, giving individuals full sovereignty over their money. This is particularly impactful for those in oppressive regimes or underserved communities.

As you can see, Bitcoin was designed as a tool not requiring trust, and empowering individuals to freely transact with one another, while also preserving wealth over time that is currently stripped away with fiat currencies via inflation and central bank control. While anyone can use and have access to Bitcoin by design, yes including some of those pesky politicians and billionaires you despise, clearly this is a tool that progressives should see being an incredibly empowering tool for individuals and communities in the U.S. and around the world. Think of those underbanked, or excluded from the traditional banking system, those facing hyperinflation, those predatory remittance payment companies that charge outrageous fees when bitcoin can be sent anywhere in the world for fractions of a penny via the lightning network or still very cheaply on-chain. The examples and opportunities are endless.

And what has Bitcoin done for a progressive and millennial like me? Well it’s given me and my family hope for a retirement in the future via better savings mechanisms, given me hope for the world as someone who works in nonprofits that people now have this incredible tool for financial freedom and empowerment, it’s connected me with a global community fighting for a better future through bitcoin, and it’s given me the opportunity to lead efforts like ours here at The Progressive Bitcoiner to help you, the reader, see that maybe there’s some hope to be found for you too here in Bitcoin.

Originally published at https://progressivebitcoiner.substack.com.

@ ee90543f:9363457f

В этом году Москва стала настоящим центром кулинарных инноваций, где традиционные рецепты переплетаются с современными гастрономическими трендами.

Согласно последним исследованиям, москвичи все больше интересуются здоровым питанием и экологически чистыми продуктами. Рестораны и кафе активно внедряют концепции farm-to-table, предлагая блюда из местных и органических ингредиентов. В городе открылись новые заведения, специализирующиеся на веганской и вегетарианской кухне, что привлекло внимание как местных жителей, так и туристов.

Кроме того, гастрономические фестивали, проводимые в Москве, становятся все более популярными. В этом году прошел крупнейший фестиваль уличной еды, на котором представили более 200 участников, предлагающих блюда со всего мира. Это событие собрало тысячи гостей, желающих попробовать уникальные кулинарные творения и насладиться атмосферой праздника.

Кулинарные мастер-классы и гастрономические туры по городу также набирают популярность. Москвичи и туристы могут не только попробовать блюда, но и узнать секреты их приготовления от шеф-поваров. Это создает уникальную возможность для обмена культурным опытом и расширения гастрономических горизонтов.

@ ee90543f:9363457f

Власти столицы запускают социальный опрос с 10 июня среди жителей и подписчиков на официальных платформах города, чтобы узнать о предпочтениях москвичей в отношении дальнейшего развития городской инфраструктуры. Горожан приглашают поделиться своими идеями о том, что они хотели бы видеть в Москве в ближайшие годы.

Опрос охватывает такие важные аспекты, как новые парки, скверы, места для отдыха и развлечений, а также культурные и спортивные мероприятия. Участникам предлагается оценить существующие инициативы и предложить собственные идеи для улучшения качества жизни в столице.

"Мы стремимся сделать Москву комфортным и современным городом для жизни, и Ваше мнение имеет большое значение," — отметила пресс-служба мэрии. "Этот опрос даст нам возможность лучше понять потребности горожан и обеспечить максимально удобную и привлекательную городской среду."

Опрос продлится до 15 июня. Все желающие могут принять участие и оставить свои предложения на официальных сайтах и в социальных сетях города.

Ваши идеи могут помочь преобразовать Москву в более зеленый, комфортный и культурно насыщенный город!

@ ee11a5df:b76c4e49

Nostr 2?

Breaking Changes in Nostr

Nostr was a huge leap forward. But it isn't perfect.

When developers notice a problem with nostr, they confer with each other to work out a solution to the problem. This is usually in the form of a NIP PR on the nips repo.

Some problems are easy. Just add something new and optional. No biggie. Zaps, git stuff, bunkers... just dream it up and add it.

Other problems can only be fixed by breaking changes. With a breaking change, the overall path forward is like this: Add the new way of doing it while preserving the old way. Push the major software to switch to the new way. Then deprecate the old way. This is a simplification, but it is the basic idea. It is how we solved markers/quotes/root and how we are upgrading encryption, among other things.

This process of pushing through a breaking change becomes more difficult as we have more and more existing nostr software out there that will break. Most of the time what happens is that the major software is driven to make the change (usually by nostr:npub180cvv07tjdrrgpa0j7j7tmnyl2yr6yr7l8j4s3evf6u64th6gkwsyjh6w6), and the smaller software is left to fend for itself. A while back I introduced the BREAKING.md file to help people developing smaller lesser-known software keep up with these changes.

Big Ideas

But some ideas just can't be applied to nostr. The idea is too big. The change is too breaking. It changes something fundamental. And nobody has come up with a smooth path to move from the old way to the new way.

And so we debate a bunch of things, and never settle on anything, and eventually nostr:npub180cvv07tjdrrgpa0j7j7tmnyl2yr6yr7l8j4s3evf6u64th6gkwsyjh6w6 makes a post saying that we don't really want it anyways 😉.

As we encounter good ideas that are hard to apply to nostr, I've been filing them away in a repository I call "nostr-next", so we don't forget about them, in case we ever wanted to start over.

It seems to me that starting over every time we encountered such a thing would be unwise. However, once we collect enough changes that we couldn't reasonably phase into nostr, then a tipping point is crossed where it becomes worthwhile to start over. In terms of the "bang for the buck" metaphor, the bang becomes bigger and bigger but the buck (the pain and cost of starting over) doesn't grow as rapidly.

WHAT? Start over?

IMHO starting over could be very bad if done in a cavalier way. The community could fracture. The new protocol could fail to take off due to lacking the network effect. The odds that a new protocol catches on are low, irrespective of how technically superior it could be.

So the big question is: can we preserve the nostr community and it's network effect while making a major step-change to the protocol and software?

I don't know the answer to that one, but I have an idea about it.

I think the new-protocol clients can be dual-stack, creating events in both systems and linking those events together via tags. The nostr key identity would still be used, and the new system identity too. This is better than things like the mostr bridge because each user would remain in custody of their own keys.

The nitty gritty

Here are some of the things I think would make nostr better, but which nostr can't easily fix. A lot of these ideas have been mentioned before by multiple people and I didn't give credit to all of you (sorry) because my brain can't track it all. But I've been collecting these over time at https://github.com/mikedilger/nostr-next

• Events as CBOR or BEVE or MsgPack or a fixed-schema binary layout... anything but JSON text with its parsing, it's encoding ambiguity, it's requirement to copy fields before hashing them, its unlimited size constraints. (me, nostr:npub1xtscya34g58tk0z605fvr788k263gsu6cy9x0mhnm87echrgufzsevkk5s)
• EdDSA ed25519 keys instead of secp256k1, to enable interoperability with a bunch of other stuff like ssh, pgp, TLS, Mainline DHT, and many more, plus just being better cryptography (me, Nuh, Orlovsky, except Orlovsky wanted Ristretto25519 for speed)
• Bootstrapping relay lists (and relay endpoints) from Mainline DHT (nostr:npub1jvxvaufrwtwj79s90n79fuxmm9pntk94rd8zwderdvqv4dcclnvs9s7yqz)
• Master keys and revocable subkeys / device keys (including having your nostr key as a subkey)
• Encryption to use different encryption-specific subkeys and ephemeral ones from the sender.
• Relay keypairs, TLS without certificates, relays known by keypair instead of URL
• Layered protocol (separate core from applications)
• Software remembering when they first saw an event, for 2 reasons, the main one being revocation (don't trust the date in the event, trust when you first saw it), the second being more precise time range queries.
• Upgrade/feature negotiation (HTTP headers prior to starting websockets)
• IDs starting with a timestamp so they are temporally adjacent (significantly better database performance) (Vitor's idea)
• Filters that allow boolean expressions on tag values, and also ID exclusions. Removing IDs from filters and moving to a GET command.
• Changing the transport (I'm against this but I know others want to)

What would it look like?

Someone (Steve Farroll) has taken my nostr-next repo and turned it into a proposed protocol he calls Mosaic. I think it is quite representative of that repo, as it already includes most of those suggestions, so I've been contributing to it. Mosaic spec is rendered here.

Of course, where Mosaic stands right now it is mostly my ideas (and Steve's), it doesn't have feedback or input from other nostr developers yet. That is what this blog post is about. I think it is time for other nostr devs to be made aware of this thing.

It is currently in the massive breaking changes phase. It might not look that way because of the detail and refinement of the documentation, but indeed everything is changing rapidly. It probably has some bad ideas and is probably missing some great ideas that you have.

Which is why this is a good time for other devs to start taking a look at it.

It is also the time to debate meta issues like "are you crazy Mike?" or "no we have to just break nostr but keep it nostr, we can't dual-stack" or whatever.

Personally I think mosaic-spec should develop and grow for quite a while before the "tipping point" happens. That is, I'm not sure we should jump in feet first yet, but rather we build up and refine this new protocol and spend a lot of time thinking about how to migrate smoothly, and break it a lot while nobody is using it.

So you can just reply to this, or DM me, or open issues or PRs at Mosaic, or just whisper to each other while giving me the evil eye.

@ ee90543f:9363457f

По данным нового отчета Департамента предпринимательства и инновационного развития Москвы, число зарегистрированных стартапов в городе выросло на 45% по сравнению с предыдущим годом. Основные направления, в которых развиваются новые компании — это информационные технологии, биотехнологии и экологические решения. "Москва становится настоящим центром для стартапов, предлагая предпринимателям все необходимые ресурсы для реализации своих идей," — отметил заместитель мэра по вопросам экономики.

Важной частью изменения бизнес-среды стало создание интегрированной системы поддержки стартапов, включающей акселераторы, инкубаторы и менторские программы. Эти инициативы помогают начинающим бизнесменам находить финансирование, развивать свои продукты и выходить на рынок.

Одним из самых значимых глобальных трендов, повлиявших на бизнес-среду Москвы, является переход к устойчивым моделям ведения бизнеса. Предприниматели все чаще ориентируются на экологические и социальные аспекты своей деятельности. "Зеленые" стартапы, фокусирующиеся на сокращении углеродного следа и использовании ресурсов, становятся особенно популярными. Правительство Москвы активно поддерживает подобные инициативы, предлагая гранты и субсидии на проекты, направленные на защиту окружающей среды.

Не отстает и сфера технологий. В 2040 году в Москве активно развиваются решения на основе искусственного интеллекта и больших данных. Компании используют эти технологии для оптимизации бизнес-процессов и повышения эффективности. "Мы живем в эпоху, когда технологии меняют правила игры, и бизнес должен адаптироваться к новым условиям," — подчеркнул один из ведущих экспертов по инновациям.

Согласно последним исследованиям, 72% предпринимателей уверены, что устойчивое развитие и внедрение технологий станут ключевыми факторами их успеха в ближайшие годы. Экономические эксперты прогнозируют, что Москва, продолжая адаптироваться к новым мировым трендам, станет одним из лидеров в сфере инновационного бизнеса на международной арене.

Тем самым, изменения в бизнес-среде Москвы 2040 года открывают новые горизонты для предпринимателей, поддерживая стартапы и инновации в эпоху глобальных экономических изменений. Столичные власти демонстрируют активную позицию по созданию комфортных условий для ведения бизнеса, что в свою очередь способствует росту экономики и созданию новых рабочих мест.

@ ee90543f:9363457f

В столице России активно развивается спортивная инфраструктура, что способствует популяризации здорового образа жизни среди населения. В этом году городские власти объявили о запуске масштабной программы, направленной на создание новейших спортивных объектов и поддержку инновационных видов спорта.

Согласно новым инициативам, в Москве будет построено более 50 современных спортивных комплексов, которые не только обеспечат доступ к традиционным видам спорта, но и создадут условия для менее известных, но стремительно набирающих популярность дисциплин, таких как киберспорт, паркур, фрисби и многие другие. Эти комплексы будут оснащены высокотехнологичным оборудованием и системами умного управления, что сделает занятия спортом более комфортными и эффективными.

Особое внимание уделено созданию доступной инфраструктуры для людей с ограниченными возможностями. Все новые спортивные объекты имеют безбарьерный доступ и специальные программы для интеграции людей с инвалидностью в спортивные сообщества. "Мы стремимся сделать спорт доступным для всех, независимо от физических возможностей," — отметила заместитель мэра по вопросам социальной политики.

Кроме того, в рамках программы "Спорт для всех" запускаются массовые мероприятия и чемпионаты, которые объединят москвичей разных возрастов. Ожидается, что в 2040 году пройдет первая Летняя Олимпиада среди городов России, которая будет посвящена физической активности и здоровому образу жизни.

Московские власти также активно сотрудничает с образовательными учреждениями, внедряя программы по физическому воспитанию и здоровому образу жизни. В школах и вузах будут организованы регулярные спортивные мероприятия, мастер-классы и лекции, посвященные важности физической активности и уходу за своим здоровьем.

"Здоровый образ жизни — это не просто тренды, это наша ответственность перед будущими поколениями. Мы делаем все возможное, чтобы каждый москвич имел возможность заниматься спортом и вести активный образ жизни," — подчеркнул мэр Москвы.

По данным последних опросов, 78% жителей столицы поддерживают усилия властей по развитию спортивной инфраструктуры и готовы принимать участие в новых инициативах. Создание комфортных условий для занятий спортом и популяризация активного образа жизни помогут москвичам не только поддерживать физическую форму, но и улучшать общее качество жизни в мегаполисе.

Таким образом, Москва стремится стать примером для других городов, внедряя инновационные решения и поддерживая активные начинания, направленные на развитие здоровья и благополучия своих жителей.

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Che cosa significherebbe trattare l'IA come uno strumento invece che come una persona?

Dall’avvio di ChatGPT, le esplorazioni in due direzioni hanno preso velocità.

La prima direzione riguarda le capacità tecniche. Quanto grande possiamo addestrare un modello? Quanto bene può rispondere alle domande del SAT? Con quanta efficienza possiamo distribuirlo?

La seconda direzione riguarda il design dell’interazione. Come comunichiamo con un modello? Come possiamo usarlo per un lavoro utile? Quale metafora usiamo per ragionare su di esso?

La prima direzione è ampiamente seguita e enormemente finanziata, e per una buona ragione: i progressi nelle capacità tecniche sono alla base di ogni possibile applicazione. Ma la seconda è altrettanto cruciale per il campo e ha enormi incognite. Siamo solo a pochi anni dall’inizio dell’era dei grandi modelli. Quali sono le probabilità che abbiamo già capito i modi migliori per usarli?

Propongo una nuova modalità di interazione, in cui i modelli svolgano il ruolo di applicazioni informatiche (ad esempio app per telefoni): fornendo un’interfaccia grafica, interpretando gli input degli utenti e aggiornando il loro stato. In questa modalità, invece di essere un “agente” che utilizza un computer per conto dell’essere umano, l’IA può fornire un ambiente informatico più ricco e potente che possiamo utilizzare.

Metafore per l’interazione

Al centro di un’interazione c’è una metafora che guida le aspettative di un utente su un sistema. I primi giorni dell’informatica hanno preso metafore come “scrivanie”, “macchine da scrivere”, “fogli di calcolo” e “lettere” e le hanno trasformate in equivalenti digitali, permettendo all’utente di ragionare sul loro comportamento. Puoi lasciare qualcosa sulla tua scrivania e tornare a prenderlo; hai bisogno di un indirizzo per inviare una lettera. Man mano che abbiamo sviluppato una conoscenza culturale di questi dispositivi, la necessità di queste particolari metafore è scomparsa, e con esse i design di interfaccia skeumorfici che le rafforzavano. Come un cestino o una matita, un computer è ora una metafora di se stesso.

La metafora dominante per i grandi modelli oggi è modello-come-persona. Questa è una metafora efficace perché le persone hanno capacità estese che conosciamo intuitivamente. Implica che possiamo avere una conversazione con un modello e porgli domande; che il modello possa collaborare con noi su un documento o un pezzo di codice; che possiamo assegnargli un compito da svolgere da solo e che tornerà quando sarà finito.

Tuttavia, trattare un modello come una persona limita profondamente il nostro modo di pensare all’interazione con esso. Le interazioni umane sono intrinsecamente lente e lineari, limitate dalla larghezza di banda e dalla natura a turni della comunicazione verbale. Come abbiamo tutti sperimentato, comunicare idee complesse in una conversazione è difficile e dispersivo. Quando vogliamo precisione, ci rivolgiamo invece a strumenti, utilizzando manipolazioni dirette e interfacce visive ad alta larghezza di banda per creare diagrammi, scrivere codice e progettare modelli CAD. Poiché concepiamo i modelli come persone, li utilizziamo attraverso conversazioni lente, anche se sono perfettamente in grado di accettare input diretti e rapidi e di produrre risultati visivi. Le metafore che utilizziamo limitano le esperienze che costruiamo, e la metafora modello-come-persona ci impedisce di esplorare il pieno potenziale dei grandi modelli.

Per molti casi d’uso, e specialmente per il lavoro produttivo, credo che il futuro risieda in un’altra metafora: modello-come-computer.

Usare un’IA come un computer

Sotto la metafora modello-come-computer, interagiremo con i grandi modelli seguendo le intuizioni che abbiamo sulle applicazioni informatiche (sia su desktop, tablet o telefono). Nota che ciò non significa che il modello sarà un’app tradizionale più di quanto il desktop di Windows fosse una scrivania letterale. “Applicazione informatica” sarà un modo per un modello di rappresentarsi a noi. Invece di agire come una persona, il modello agirà come un computer.

Agire come un computer significa produrre un’interfaccia grafica. Al posto del flusso lineare di testo in stile telescrivente fornito da ChatGPT, un sistema modello-come-computer genererà qualcosa che somiglia all’interfaccia di un’applicazione moderna: pulsanti, cursori, schede, immagini, grafici e tutto il resto. Questo affronta limitazioni chiave dell’interfaccia di chat standard modello-come-persona:

• Scoperta. Un buon strumento suggerisce i suoi usi. Quando l’unica interfaccia è una casella di testo vuota, spetta all’utente capire cosa fare e comprendere i limiti del sistema. La barra laterale Modifica in Lightroom è un ottimo modo per imparare l’editing fotografico perché non si limita a dirti cosa può fare questa applicazione con una foto, ma cosa potresti voler fare. Allo stesso modo, un’interfaccia modello-come-computer per DALL-E potrebbe mostrare nuove possibilità per le tue generazioni di immagini.

• Efficienza. La manipolazione diretta è più rapida che scrivere una richiesta a parole. Per continuare l’esempio di Lightroom, sarebbe impensabile modificare una foto dicendo a una persona quali cursori spostare e di quanto. Ci vorrebbe un giorno intero per chiedere un’esposizione leggermente più bassa e una vibranza leggermente più alta, solo per vedere come apparirebbe. Nella metafora modello-come-computer, il modello può creare strumenti che ti permettono di comunicare ciò che vuoi più efficientemente e quindi di fare le cose più rapidamente.

A differenza di un’app tradizionale, questa interfaccia grafica è generata dal modello su richiesta. Questo significa che ogni parte dell’interfaccia che vedi è rilevante per ciò che stai facendo in quel momento, inclusi i contenuti specifici del tuo lavoro. Significa anche che, se desideri un’interfaccia più ampia o diversa, puoi semplicemente richiederla. Potresti chiedere a DALL-E di produrre alcuni preset modificabili per le sue impostazioni ispirati da famosi artisti di schizzi. Quando clicchi sul preset Leonardo da Vinci, imposta i cursori per disegni prospettici altamente dettagliati in inchiostro nero. Se clicchi su Charles Schulz, seleziona fumetti tecnicolor 2D a basso dettaglio.

Una bicicletta della mente proteiforme

La metafora modello-come-persona ha una curiosa tendenza a creare distanza tra l’utente e il modello, rispecchiando il divario di comunicazione tra due persone che può essere ridotto ma mai completamente colmato. A causa della difficoltà e del costo di comunicare a parole, le persone tendono a suddividere i compiti tra loro in blocchi grandi e il più indipendenti possibile. Le interfacce modello-come-persona seguono questo schema: non vale la pena dire a un modello di aggiungere un return statement alla tua funzione quando è più veloce scriverlo da solo. Con il sovraccarico della comunicazione, i sistemi modello-come-persona sono più utili quando possono fare un intero blocco di lavoro da soli. Fanno le cose per te.

Questo contrasta con il modo in cui interagiamo con i computer o altri strumenti. Gli strumenti producono feedback visivi in tempo reale e sono controllati attraverso manipolazioni dirette. Hanno un overhead comunicativo così basso che non è necessario specificare un blocco di lavoro indipendente. Ha più senso mantenere l’umano nel loop e dirigere lo strumento momento per momento. Come stivali delle sette leghe, gli strumenti ti permettono di andare più lontano a ogni passo, ma sei ancora tu a fare il lavoro. Ti permettono di fare le cose più velocemente.

Considera il compito di costruire un sito web usando un grande modello. Con le interfacce di oggi, potresti trattare il modello come un appaltatore o un collaboratore. Cercheresti di scrivere a parole il più possibile su come vuoi che il sito appaia, cosa vuoi che dica e quali funzionalità vuoi che abbia. Il modello genererebbe una prima bozza, tu la eseguirai e poi fornirai un feedback. “Fai il logo un po’ più grande”, diresti, e “centra quella prima immagine principale”, e “deve esserci un pulsante di login nell’intestazione”. Per ottenere esattamente ciò che vuoi, invierai una lista molto lunga di richieste sempre più minuziose.

Un’interazione alternativa modello-come-computer sarebbe diversa: invece di costruire il sito web, il modello genererebbe un’interfaccia per te per costruirlo, dove ogni input dell’utente a quell’interfaccia interroga il grande modello sotto il cofano. Forse quando descrivi le tue necessità creerebbe un’interfaccia con una barra laterale e una finestra di anteprima. All’inizio la barra laterale contiene solo alcuni schizzi di layout che puoi scegliere come punto di partenza. Puoi cliccare su ciascuno di essi, e il modello scrive l’HTML per una pagina web usando quel layout e lo visualizza nella finestra di anteprima. Ora che hai una pagina su cui lavorare, la barra laterale guadagna opzioni aggiuntive che influenzano la pagina globalmente, come accoppiamenti di font e schemi di colore. L’anteprima funge da editor WYSIWYG, permettendoti di afferrare elementi e spostarli, modificarne i contenuti, ecc. A supportare tutto ciò è il modello, che vede queste azioni dell’utente e riscrive la pagina per corrispondere ai cambiamenti effettuati. Poiché il modello può generare un’interfaccia per aiutare te e lui a comunicare più efficientemente, puoi esercitare più controllo sul prodotto finale in meno tempo.

La metafora modello-come-computer ci incoraggia a pensare al modello come a uno strumento con cui interagire in tempo reale piuttosto che a un collaboratore a cui assegnare compiti. Invece di sostituire un tirocinante o un tutor, può essere una sorta di bicicletta proteiforme per la mente, una che è sempre costruita su misura esattamente per te e il terreno che intendi attraversare.

Un nuovo paradigma per l’informatica?

I modelli che possono generare interfacce su richiesta sono una frontiera completamente nuova nell’informatica. Potrebbero essere un paradigma del tutto nuovo, con il modo in cui cortocircuitano il modello di applicazione esistente. Dare agli utenti finali il potere di creare e modificare app al volo cambia fondamentalmente il modo in cui interagiamo con i computer. Al posto di una singola applicazione statica costruita da uno sviluppatore, un modello genererà un’applicazione su misura per l’utente e le sue esigenze immediate. Al posto della logica aziendale implementata nel codice, il modello interpreterà gli input dell’utente e aggiornerà l’interfaccia utente. È persino possibile che questo tipo di interfaccia generativa sostituisca completamente il sistema operativo, generando e gestendo interfacce e finestre al volo secondo necessità.

All’inizio, l’interfaccia generativa sarà un giocattolo, utile solo per l’esplorazione creativa e poche altre applicazioni di nicchia. Dopotutto, nessuno vorrebbe un’app di posta elettronica che occasionalmente invia email al tuo ex e mente sulla tua casella di posta. Ma gradualmente i modelli miglioreranno. Anche mentre si spingeranno ulteriormente nello spazio di esperienze completamente nuove, diventeranno lentamente abbastanza affidabili da essere utilizzati per un lavoro reale.

Piccoli pezzi di questo futuro esistono già. Anni fa Jonas Degrave ha dimostrato che ChatGPT poteva fare una buona simulazione di una riga di comando Linux. Allo stesso modo, websim.ai utilizza un LLM per generare siti web su richiesta mentre li navighi. Oasis, GameNGen e DIAMOND addestrano modelli video condizionati sull’azione su singoli videogiochi, permettendoti di giocare ad esempio a Doom dentro un grande modello. E Genie 2 genera videogiochi giocabili da prompt testuali. L’interfaccia generativa potrebbe ancora sembrare un’idea folle, ma non è così folle.

Ci sono enormi domande aperte su come apparirà tutto questo. Dove sarà inizialmente utile l’interfaccia generativa? Come condivideremo e distribuiremo le esperienze che creiamo collaborando con il modello, se esistono solo come contesto di un grande modello? Vorremmo davvero farlo? Quali nuovi tipi di esperienze saranno possibili? Come funzionerà tutto questo in pratica? I modelli genereranno interfacce come codice o produrranno direttamente pixel grezzi?

Non conosco ancora queste risposte. Dovremo sperimentare e scoprirlo!Che cosa significherebbe trattare l'IA come uno strumento invece che come una persona?

Dall’avvio di ChatGPT, le esplorazioni in due direzioni hanno preso velocità.

La prima direzione riguarda le capacità tecniche. Quanto grande possiamo addestrare un modello? Quanto bene può rispondere alle domande del SAT? Con quanta efficienza possiamo distribuirlo?

La seconda direzione riguarda il design dell’interazione. Come comunichiamo con un modello? Come possiamo usarlo per un lavoro utile? Quale metafora usiamo per ragionare su di esso?

La prima direzione è ampiamente seguita e enormemente finanziata, e per una buona ragione: i progressi nelle capacità tecniche sono alla base di ogni possibile applicazione. Ma la seconda è altrettanto cruciale per il campo e ha enormi incognite. Siamo solo a pochi anni dall’inizio dell’era dei grandi modelli. Quali sono le probabilità che abbiamo già capito i modi migliori per usarli?

Propongo una nuova modalità di interazione, in cui i modelli svolgano il ruolo di applicazioni informatiche (ad esempio app per telefoni): fornendo un’interfaccia grafica, interpretando gli input degli utenti e aggiornando il loro stato. In questa modalità, invece di essere un “agente” che utilizza un computer per conto dell’essere umano, l’IA può fornire un ambiente informatico più ricco e potente che possiamo utilizzare.

Metafore per l’interazione

Al centro di un’interazione c’è una metafora che guida le aspettative di un utente su un sistema. I primi giorni dell’informatica hanno preso metafore come “scrivanie”, “macchine da scrivere”, “fogli di calcolo” e “lettere” e le hanno trasformate in equivalenti digitali, permettendo all’utente di ragionare sul loro comportamento. Puoi lasciare qualcosa sulla tua scrivania e tornare a prenderlo; hai bisogno di un indirizzo per inviare una lettera. Man mano che abbiamo sviluppato una conoscenza culturale di questi dispositivi, la necessità di queste particolari metafore è scomparsa, e con esse i design di interfaccia skeumorfici che le rafforzavano. Come un cestino o una matita, un computer è ora una metafora di se stesso.

La metafora dominante per i grandi modelli oggi è modello-come-persona. Questa è una metafora efficace perché le persone hanno capacità estese che conosciamo intuitivamente. Implica che possiamo avere una conversazione con un modello e porgli domande; che il modello possa collaborare con noi su un documento o un pezzo di codice; che possiamo assegnargli un compito da svolgere da solo e che tornerà quando sarà finito.

Tuttavia, trattare un modello come una persona limita profondamente il nostro modo di pensare all’interazione con esso. Le interazioni umane sono intrinsecamente lente e lineari, limitate dalla larghezza di banda e dalla natura a turni della comunicazione verbale. Come abbiamo tutti sperimentato, comunicare idee complesse in una conversazione è difficile e dispersivo. Quando vogliamo precisione, ci rivolgiamo invece a strumenti, utilizzando manipolazioni dirette e interfacce visive ad alta larghezza di banda per creare diagrammi, scrivere codice e progettare modelli CAD. Poiché concepiamo i modelli come persone, li utilizziamo attraverso conversazioni lente, anche se sono perfettamente in grado di accettare input diretti e rapidi e di produrre risultati visivi. Le metafore che utilizziamo limitano le esperienze che costruiamo, e la metafora modello-come-persona ci impedisce di esplorare il pieno potenziale dei grandi modelli.

Per molti casi d’uso, e specialmente per il lavoro produttivo, credo che il futuro risieda in un’altra metafora: modello-come-computer.

Usare un’IA come un computer

Sotto la metafora modello-come-computer, interagiremo con i grandi modelli seguendo le intuizioni che abbiamo sulle applicazioni informatiche (sia su desktop, tablet o telefono). Nota che ciò non significa che il modello sarà un’app tradizionale più di quanto il desktop di Windows fosse una scrivania letterale. “Applicazione informatica” sarà un modo per un modello di rappresentarsi a noi. Invece di agire come una persona, il modello agirà come un computer.

Agire come un computer significa produrre un’interfaccia grafica. Al posto del flusso lineare di testo in stile telescrivente fornito da ChatGPT, un sistema modello-come-computer genererà qualcosa che somiglia all’interfaccia di un’applicazione moderna: pulsanti, cursori, schede, immagini, grafici e tutto il resto. Questo affronta limitazioni chiave dell’interfaccia di chat standard modello-come-persona:

Scoperta. Un buon strumento suggerisce i suoi usi. Quando l’unica interfaccia è una casella di testo vuota, spetta all’utente capire cosa fare e comprendere i limiti del sistema. La barra laterale Modifica in Lightroom è un ottimo modo per imparare l’editing fotografico perché non si limita a dirti cosa può fare questa applicazione con una foto, ma cosa potresti voler fare. Allo stesso modo, un’interfaccia modello-come-computer per DALL-E potrebbe mostrare nuove possibilità per le tue generazioni di immagini.

Efficienza. La manipolazione diretta è più rapida che scrivere una richiesta a parole. Per continuare l’esempio di Lightroom, sarebbe impensabile modificare una foto dicendo a una persona quali cursori spostare e di quanto. Ci vorrebbe un giorno intero per chiedere un’esposizione leggermente più bassa e una vibranza leggermente più alta, solo per vedere come apparirebbe. Nella metafora modello-come-computer, il modello può creare strumenti che ti permettono di comunicare ciò che vuoi più efficientemente e quindi di fare le cose più rapidamente.

A differenza di un’app tradizionale, questa interfaccia grafica è generata dal modello su richiesta. Questo significa che ogni parte dell’interfaccia che vedi è rilevante per ciò che stai facendo in quel momento, inclusi i contenuti specifici del tuo lavoro. Significa anche che, se desideri un’interfaccia più ampia o diversa, puoi semplicemente richiederla. Potresti chiedere a DALL-E di produrre alcuni preset modificabili per le sue impostazioni ispirati da famosi artisti di schizzi. Quando clicchi sul preset Leonardo da Vinci, imposta i cursori per disegni prospettici altamente dettagliati in inchiostro nero. Se clicchi su Charles Schulz, seleziona fumetti tecnicolor 2D a basso dettaglio.

Una bicicletta della mente proteiforme

La metafora modello-come-persona ha una curiosa tendenza a creare distanza tra l’utente e il modello, rispecchiando il divario di comunicazione tra due persone che può essere ridotto ma mai completamente colmato. A causa della difficoltà e del costo di comunicare a parole, le persone tendono a suddividere i compiti tra loro in blocchi grandi e il più indipendenti possibile. Le interfacce modello-come-persona seguono questo schema: non vale la pena dire a un modello di aggiungere un return statement alla tua funzione quando è più veloce scriverlo da solo. Con il sovraccarico della comunicazione, i sistemi modello-come-persona sono più utili quando possono fare un intero blocco di lavoro da soli. Fanno le cose per te.

Questo contrasta con il modo in cui interagiamo con i computer o altri strumenti. Gli strumenti producono feedback visivi in tempo reale e sono controllati attraverso manipolazioni dirette. Hanno un overhead comunicativo così basso che non è necessario specificare un blocco di lavoro indipendente. Ha più senso mantenere l’umano nel loop e dirigere lo strumento momento per momento. Come stivali delle sette leghe, gli strumenti ti permettono di andare più lontano a ogni passo, ma sei ancora tu a fare il lavoro. Ti permettono di fare le cose più velocemente.

Considera il compito di costruire un sito web usando un grande modello. Con le interfacce di oggi, potresti trattare il modello come un appaltatore o un collaboratore. Cercheresti di scrivere a parole il più possibile su come vuoi che il sito appaia, cosa vuoi che dica e quali funzionalità vuoi che abbia. Il modello genererebbe una prima bozza, tu la eseguirai e poi fornirai un feedback. “Fai il logo un po’ più grande”, diresti, e “centra quella prima immagine principale”, e “deve esserci un pulsante di login nell’intestazione”. Per ottenere esattamente ciò che vuoi, invierai una lista molto lunga di richieste sempre più minuziose.

Un’interazione alternativa modello-come-computer sarebbe diversa: invece di costruire il sito web, il modello genererebbe un’interfaccia per te per costruirlo, dove ogni input dell’utente a quell’interfaccia interroga il grande modello sotto il cofano. Forse quando descrivi le tue necessità creerebbe un’interfaccia con una barra laterale e una finestra di anteprima. All’inizio la barra laterale contiene solo alcuni schizzi di layout che puoi scegliere come punto di partenza. Puoi cliccare su ciascuno di essi, e il modello scrive l’HTML per una pagina web usando quel layout e lo visualizza nella finestra di anteprima. Ora che hai una pagina su cui lavorare, la barra laterale guadagna opzioni aggiuntive che influenzano la pagina globalmente, come accoppiamenti di font e schemi di colore. L’anteprima funge da editor WYSIWYG, permettendoti di afferrare elementi e spostarli, modificarne i contenuti, ecc. A supportare tutto ciò è il modello, che vede queste azioni dell’utente e riscrive la pagina per corrispondere ai cambiamenti effettuati. Poiché il modello può generare un’interfaccia per aiutare te e lui a comunicare più efficientemente, puoi esercitare più controllo sul prodotto finale in meno tempo.

La metafora modello-come-computer ci incoraggia a pensare al modello come a uno strumento con cui interagire in tempo reale piuttosto che a un collaboratore a cui assegnare compiti. Invece di sostituire un tirocinante o un tutor, può essere una sorta di bicicletta proteiforme per la mente, una che è sempre costruita su misura esattamente per te e il terreno che intendi attraversare.

Un nuovo paradigma per l’informatica?

I modelli che possono generare interfacce su richiesta sono una frontiera completamente nuova nell’informatica. Potrebbero essere un paradigma del tutto nuovo, con il modo in cui cortocircuitano il modello di applicazione esistente. Dare agli utenti finali il potere di creare e modificare app al volo cambia fondamentalmente il modo in cui interagiamo con i computer. Al posto di una singola applicazione statica costruita da uno sviluppatore, un modello genererà un’applicazione su misura per l’utente e le sue esigenze immediate. Al posto della logica aziendale implementata nel codice, il modello interpreterà gli input dell’utente e aggiornerà l’interfaccia utente. È persino possibile che questo tipo di interfaccia generativa sostituisca completamente il sistema operativo, generando e gestendo interfacce e finestre al volo secondo necessità.

All’inizio, l’interfaccia generativa sarà un giocattolo, utile solo per l’esplorazione creativa e poche altre applicazioni di nicchia. Dopotutto, nessuno vorrebbe un’app di posta elettronica che occasionalmente invia email al tuo ex e mente sulla tua casella di posta. Ma gradualmente i modelli miglioreranno. Anche mentre si spingeranno ulteriormente nello spazio di esperienze completamente nuove, diventeranno lentamente abbastanza affidabili da essere utilizzati per un lavoro reale.

Piccoli pezzi di questo futuro esistono già. Anni fa Jonas Degrave ha dimostrato che ChatGPT poteva fare una buona simulazione di una riga di comando Linux. Allo stesso modo, websim.ai utilizza un LLM per generare siti web su richiesta mentre li navighi. Oasis, GameNGen e DIAMOND addestrano modelli video condizionati sull’azione su singoli videogiochi, permettendoti di giocare ad esempio a Doom dentro un grande modello. E Genie 2 genera videogiochi giocabili da prompt testuali. L’interfaccia generativa potrebbe ancora sembrare un’idea folle, ma non è così folle.

Ci sono enormi domande aperte su come apparirà tutto questo. Dove sarà inizialmente utile l’interfaccia generativa? Come condivideremo e distribuiremo le esperienze che creiamo collaborando con il modello, se esistono solo come contesto di un grande modello? Vorremmo davvero farlo? Quali nuovi tipi di esperienze saranno possibili? Come funzionerà tutto questo in pratica? I modelli genereranno interfacce come codice o produrranno direttamente pixel grezzi?

Non conosco ancora queste risposte. Dovremo sperimentare e scoprirlo!

Tradotto da:\ https://willwhitney.com/computing-inside-ai.htmlhttps://willwhitney.com/computing-inside-ai.html

@ ee90543f:9363457f

В столице России стартуют инновационные программы, направленные на поддержку психологического здоровья школьников и студентов. В условиях растущих нагрузок и стресса, связанных с обучением, власти города и образовательные учреждения осознали необходимость создания эффективных механизмов для предотвращения психологических проблем среди молодежи.

Внедрение новых программ стало возможным благодаря сотрудничеству департаментов образования и здравоохранения, а также ведущих психологов и педагогов. Основной целью инициативы является профилактика стресса, тревожности и других психологических расстройств среди учащихся.

Одной из ключевых новаций является программа "Здоровый Ум", которая включает в себя регулярные занятия по эмоциональному интеллекуту, медитации и арт-терапии. Эти занятия проводятся как в школах, так и в университетах, что позволяет молодежи научиться справляться с эмоциональными нагрузками и находить способы самовыражения.

Кроме того, в рамках программы планируется создание «Психологических Центров Поддержки», куда студенты смогут обращаться за консультациями и помощью. Эти центры будут работать в тесном сотрудничестве с профессиональными психологами и психотерапевтами, что обеспечит доступность качественной психологической помощи.

"Психологическое здоровье — это такая же важная часть общего благополучия, как физическое здоровье. Мы хотим создать безопасную и поддерживающую среду для наших детей и молодежи, чтобы они могли развиваться и учиться без лишнего стресса", — заявила начальник Департамента образования Москвы.

Также важно отметить, что в 2040 году в московских учебных заведениях запущены программы по повышению осведомленности среди преподавателей о важности психологического здоровья студентов. Учителей обучают распознавать сигналы стресса и выгорания у учащихся, а также предоставляют инструменты для оказания первой помощи в неотложных психологических ситуациях.

Ожидается, что новые мероприятия и инициативы улучшат общий психологический климат в образовательных учреждениях, создавая пространство для открытого обсуждения вопросов психического здоровья и формирования здоровых привычек у молодежи.

Таким образом, Москва делает важный шаг навстречу будущему, в котором забота о психологическом здоровье станет одним из главных приоритетов в образовательном процессе, поддерживая здоровье и благополучие нового поколения.

@ ee90543f:9363457f

В этом году Москва запускает ряд новых туристических маршрутов, которые учитывают современные тенденции и интересы посетителей.

В центре новых маршрутов — интеграция технологий и культурных достопримечательностей. Городские власти внедрили инновационное приложение для смартфонов, которое не только предлагает уникальные экскурсии по историческим местам, но и адаптируется под предпочтения каждого пользователя. Благодаря искусственному интеллекту приложение анализирует интересы туриста и формирует персонализированный маршрут, включая интерактивные задания и викторины, что делает изучение города более увлекательным.

Важным шагом в развитии инфраструктуры стало открытие "умных" станций метро, оборудованных цифровыми экранами и бесплатным Wi-Fi. Туристы могут получить актуальную информацию о транспортной доступности, ближайших достопримечательностях и мероприятиях в режиме реального времени. Кроме того, новые станции предлагают удобные пространства для отдыха с зонами coworking и культурными выставками, что делает ожидание поезда приятным и познавательным.

Москва также продолжает развивать туристическую инфраструктуру. Построены новые гостиницы и хостелы, многие из которых предлагают уникальные концепции проживания, включая экологически чистые поступления и совместные пространства для общения. Также в столице активно развиваются пешие зоны и велодорожки, что позволяет туристам легче исследовать город и наслаждаться его атмосферой.

Согласно данным последнего опроса, 85% туристов отметили, что удобство передвижения и доступность информации о достопримечательностях значимо повышают качество их поездки. Городские власти уверены, что активное внедрение технологий и развитие инфраструктуры позволит Москве сохранить статус одного из самых привлекательных туристических направлений на мировом уровне.

"Мы стремимся сделать Москву доступной и комфортной для всех гостей, учитывая их нужды и желания. Инновации и качество обслуживания — наш главный приоритет", — прокомментировала начальник Департамента туризма Москвы.

С такими нововведениями Москва продолжает привлекать внимание путешественников со всего мира, предлагая им уникальный опыт и возможность насладиться богатой культурой столицы.

@ ec42c765:328c0600

てすと

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nostr:nevent1qqsdvchy5d27zt3z05rr3q6vvmzgslslxwu0p4dfkvxwhmvxldn9djguvagp2

@ ee90543f:9363457f

10 апреля — В столичном метрополитене стартовал запуск нового поколения экологически чистых поездов, разработанных с использованием инновационных технологий и альтернативных источников энергии. Эти поезда, работающие на водородных топливных элементах, обещают значительно сократить углеродные выбросы и повысить энергоэффективность системы.

Новая линия, которая соединит центр города с крупнейшими жилыми комплексами на окраинах, будет оснащена современными системами умного управления, которые позволят оптимизировать расписание и минимизировать время ожидания. Каждый поезд оборудован системой рекуперации энергии, что позволит повысить эффективность использования электроэнергии в целом.

По словам руководства Московского метрополитена, запуск этой линии — важный шаг в направлении устойчивого транспорта и улучшения качества воздуха в городе. "Мы стремимся создать комфортные условия для пассажиров и в то же время заботиться об экологии. Новые поезда не только ускорят путешествие по городу, но и сделают его более безопасным и приятным", — отметил директор метрополитена.

Также планируется расширение сети метро за счет новых станций, которые будут представлять собой не только транспортные узлы, но и культурные пространства с выставками, информационными центрами и общественными зонами. По ожиданиям властей, это нововведение привлечет больше жителей и гостей столицы, а также станет еще одной причиной для гордости москвичей.

@ b34b4408:acfb9667

เฮลิโอเทอราปีคืออะไร?

เฮลิโอเทอราปี (Heliotherapy) หรือการบำบัดด้วยแสงแดด เป็นศาสตร์การแพทย์ที่มีมาแต่โบราณ ชาวกรีกและโรมันใช้แสงแดดในการรักษาโรคและบำรุงสุขภาพ แนวคิดนี้ไม่ใช่เรื่องงมงาย แต่มีหลักการทางวิทยาศาสตร์รองรับ โดยเฉพาะในด้านผลของแสงแดดต่อการทำงานของร่างกายมนุษย์

กลไกการทำงานของเฮลิโอเทอราปี

การกระตุ้นการสร้างวิตามินดี

• แสง UVB ที่มีความยาวคลื่น 290-315 นาโนเมตร จะกระตุ้นให้ผิวหนังเปลี่ยน 7-dehydrocholesterol เป็น previtamin D3
• Previtamin D3 จะถูกเปลี่ยนเป็น vitamin D3 ด้วยความร้อนจากร่างกาย
• Vitamin D3 จะถูกตับเปลี่ยนเป็น 25-hydroxyvitamin D
• ไตจะเปลี่ยน 25-hydroxyvitamin D เป็น 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D ซึ่งเป็นรูปแบบที่ใช้งานได้
• กระบวนการนี้ส่งผลต่อ:
• การดูดซึมแคลเซียมและฟอสฟอรัสที่ลำไส้
• การสร้างและซ่อมแซมกระดูก
• การทำงานของระบบภูมิคุ้มกัน

การปรับสมดุลฮอร์โมน

• การกระตุ้นเซโรโทนิน:
• แสงสว่างผ่านดวงตาไปกระตุ้น Suprachiasmatic Nucleus (SCN)
• SCN ส่งสัญญาณไปยัง Pineal Gland
• เพิ่มการผลิตเซโรโทนินในช่วงกลางวัน

• ลดการเปลี่ยนเซโรโทนินเป็นเมลาโทนิน

• การควบคุมเมลาโทนิน:

• ช่วงมีแสงสว่าง จะยับยั้งการผลิตเมลาโทนิน
• เมื่อไม่มีแสง จะเริ่มผลิตเมลาโทนิน
• ช่วยควบคุมวงจรการนอนหลับ

• ส่งผลต่อการทำงานของระบบเมตาบอลิซึม

• การปรับระดับคอร์ติซอล:

• แสงสว่างช่วยกระตุ้นการหลั่งคอร์ติซอลตามธรรมชาติ
• ช่วยให้ร่างกายตื่นตัวในช่วงเช้า
• ควบคุมระดับน้ำตาลในเลือด
• มีผลต่อการตอบสนองต่อความเครียด

ผลต่อระบบภูมิคุ้มกัน

• การกระตุ้นเซลล์ภูมิคุ้มกัน:
• เพิ่มการผลิต T-lymphocytes
• กระตุ้นการทำงานของ Natural Killer cells

• เพิ่มประสิทธิภาพของ macrophages

• การควบคุมการอักเสบ:

• ลดการผลิต pro-inflammatory cytokines
• เพิ่มการผลิต anti-inflammatory compounds

• ช่วยควบคุมการตอบสนองของระบบภูมิคุ้มกัน

• การเสริมสร้างการป้องกัน:

• กระตุ้นการสร้าง antimicrobial peptides
• เพิ่มความสามารถในการต่อต้านเชื้อโรค
• ช่วยในการซ่อมแซมเนื้อเยื่อ

ผลต่อผิวหนัง

• การกระตุ้นเม็ดสีเมลานิน:
• ป้องกันการทำลาย DNA จากรังสี UV
• ช่วยกรองแสง UV ที่เป็นอันตราย

• ปรับสีผิวให้เข้มขึ้นเพื่อป้องกัน

• การซ่อมแซมเซลล์:

• กระตุ้นกระบวนการ DNA repair
• เพิ่มการผลิต collagen
• ช่วยในการรักษาแผลและการอักเสบ

ผลต่อระบบประสาท

• การกระตุ้นการทำงานของสมอง:
• เพิ่มการไหลเวียนเลือดในสมอง
• กระตุ้นการผลิตสารสื่อประสาท

• ปรับปรุงความสามารถในการจดจำ

• การควบคุมอารมณ์:

• ลดความเครียดผ่านการปรับสมดุลฮอร์โมน
• ช่วยลดอาการซึมเศร้า
• เพิ่มความรู้สึกผ่อนคลาย

การประยุกต์ใช้เฮลิโอเทอราปีในการรักษาโรค

โรคผิวหนัง

• โรคสะเก็ดเงิน (Psoriasis)

• กลไก: แสง UV ช่วยลดการเพิ่มจำนวนของเซลล์ผิวหนังที่ผิดปกติ

• ผลการรักษา: ลดความหนาของรอยโรค ลดอาการคัน ลดการอักเสบ

• โรคผื่นภูมิแพ้ผิวหนัง (Atopic Dermatitis)

• กลไก: ลดการทำงานของเซลล์ภูมิคุ้มกันที่ทำให้เกิดการอักเสบ

• ผลการรักษา: บรรเทาอาการคัน ลดการอักเสบ ผิวหนังแข็งแรงขึ้น

• โรคด่างขาว (Vitiligo)

• กลไก: กระตุ้นการทำงานของเซลล์สร้างเม็ดสี

• ผลการรักษา: กระตุ้นการสร้างเม็ดสีในบริเวณที่เป็นด่างขาว

• สิวอักเสบ (acne)

• กลไก : แสง UV ช่วยฆ่าเชื้อแบคทีเรีย
• ผลการรักษา : ลดการอักเสบ และส่งเสริมเชื้อดีที่ผิว

ปัญหาสุขภาพจิต

• ภาวะซึมเศร้าตามฤดูกาล (SAD)

• ความถี่: ทุกวัน โดยเฉพาะในฤดูหนาว/ฝน
• กลไก: กระตุ้นการผลิตเซโรโทนิน ปรับสมดุลเมลาโทนิน

• ผลการรักษา: ลดอาการซึมเศร้า เพิ่มพลังงาน ปรับปรุงการนอน

• ปัญหาการนอนไม่หลับ หรือ อาการเจ็ทแล็ก (Jet lag)

• ความถี่: ทุกวัน
• กลไก: ปรับนาฬิกาชีวภาพ ควบคุมการผลิตเมลาโทนิน

• ผลการรักษา: ช่วยให้นอนหลับง่ายขึ้น ปรับวงจรการนอน

• ความเครียดและวิตกกังวล

• วิธีการ: รับแสงแดดอ่อนๆ พร้อมการเดินหรือทำสมาธิ
• กลไก: เพิ่มการผลิตเซโรโทนิน ลดระดับคอร์ติซอล
• ผลการรักษา: ลดความเครียด เพิ่มความรู้สึกผ่อนคลาย

โรคกระดูกและข้อ

• ภาวะกระดูกพรุน

• วิธีการ: รับแสงแดด เน้นช่วงข้อแขนขาที่มีอาการ
• กลไก: เพิ่มการสร้างวิตามินดี ช่วยดูดซึมแคลเซียม

• ผลการรักษา: ชะลอการสูญเสียมวลกระดูก เพิ่มความแข็งแรง

• การอักเสบของข้อ/โรคกระดูกอ่อน (Rickets)/เก็าท์ /รูมาตอยด์

• วิธีการ: รับแสงแดดบริเวณข้อที่มีปัญหา
• กลไก: ลดการอักเสบ เพิ่มการไหลเวียนเลือด
• ผลการรักษา: ลดอาการปวด เพิ่มความยืดหยุ่น

โรคระบบภูมิคุ้มกัน

• ภูมิแพ้ (Allergies)

• กลไก: ปรับการตอบสนองของระบบภูมิคุ้มกัน
• ผลการรักษา: ลดความรุนแรงของอาการแพ้

- โรคภูมิคุ้มกันทำลายตัวเอง

• กลไก: ปรับสมดุลระบบภูมิคุ้มกัน ลดการอักเสบ
• ผลการรักษา: ลดความรุนแรงของอาการ ยืดระยะเวลาระหว่างการกำเริบ

ระบบเมตาบอลิซึม

- การควบคุมน้ำหนัก

• วิธีการ: รับแสงแดด พร้อมการเดินเบาๆ
• กลไก:
  • กระตุ้นการทำงานของต่อมไทรอยด์
  • เพิ่มการเผาผลาญไขมันสีน้ำตาล (Brown Fat)
  • ปรับสมดุลฮอร์โมนที่เกี่ยวข้องกับความหิว

• ผลการรักษา:

  • เพิ่มอัตราการเผาผลาญพื้นฐาน
  • ควบคุมความอยากอาหารได้ดีขึ้น
  • ลดการสะสมไขมัน

• การควบคุมน้ำตาลในเลือด

• วิธีการ: รับแสงแดดหลังอาหาร
• กลไก:
  • เพิ่มความไวต่ออินซูลิน
  • ปรับการทำงานของเซลล์ตับอ่อน
  • ควบคุมการหลั่งฮอร์โมนที่เกี่ยวข้องกับน้ำตาล

• ผลการรักษา:

  • ระดับน้ำตาลในเลือดคงที่มากขึ้น
  • ลดความเสี่ยงภาวะน้ำตาลต่ำ/สูง
  • เพิ่มประสิทธิภาพการใช้น้ำตาลของเซลล์

• การทำงานของตับ

• กลไก:
  • กระตุ้นการสร้างเอนไซม์ในตับ
  • เพิ่มการไหลเวียนเลือดที่ตับ
  • ช่วยในกระบวนการดีท็อกซ์

• ผลการรักษา:

  • เพิ่มประสิทธิภาพการทำงานของตับ
  • ลดการสะสมไขมันในตับ
  • ช่วยการขจัดสารพิษ

• ระบบย่อยอาหาร

• กลไก:
  • กระตุ้นการผลิตน้ำย่อย
  • ปรับสมดุลแบคทีเรียในลำไส้
  • เพิ่มการเคลื่อนไหวของลำไส้
• ผลการรักษา:
  • ระบบย่อยอาหารทำงานดีขึ้น
  • ลดอาการท้องอืด ท้องเฟ้อ
  • เพิ่มการดูดซึมสารอาหาร

ข้อควรระวังในการรักษา: - ปรึกษาผู้เชี่ยวชาญหรือผู้ที่เข้าใจเรื่อง Heliotherapy หากมีโรคประจำตัว - เริ่มจากระยะเวลาสั้นๆ แล้วค่อยๆ เพิ่ม - ควรสวมเสื้อผ้าที่เปิดผิวหนังให้สัมผัสแสงแดดโดยตรง - ไม่ควรทาครีมกันแดดในบริเวณที่ต้องการรับการรักษา - หากมีอาการผิวแดง ร้อนผิว ให้หยุดรับแสงแดด - หยุดทันทีเมื่อมีอาการแพ้หรือระคายเคือง - ระวังเป็นพิเศษในผู้ที่มีประวัติแพ้แดด

ความจริงที่ถูกบิดเบือน: ทำไมเราถึงกลัวแดด?

อิทธิพลของอุตสาหกรรมความงามและการแพทย์

อุตสาหกรรมเครื่องสำอางและผลิตภัณฑ์ดูแลผิว

• ตลาดผลิตภัณฑ์กันแดด
• มูลค่าตลาดทั่วโลกกว่า 50,000 ล้านดอลลาร์
• อัตราการเติบโตเฉลี่ย 8-10% ต่อปี
• ผลิตภัณฑ์หลากหลายระดับราคา

• การพัฒนาสูตรใหม่ๆ เพื่อสร้างความต้องการ

• กลยุทธ์การสร้างความต้องการ

• การโฆษณาที่สร้างความกลัว

  • ใช้ภาพก่อน-หลังที่เกินจริง
  • นำเสนอผลการวิจัยแบบเลือกข้าง
  • สร้างความกังวลเรื่องริ้วรอยและความชรา
  • ใช้คำศัพท์ทางวิทยาศาสตร์ที่ซับซ้อน

• การสร้างความเชื่อผิดๆ

  • "ต้องทาครีมกันแดดทุกวัน แม้อยู่ในร่ม"
  • "ยิ่ง SPF สูง ยิ่งดี"
  • "แสงแดดเป็นสาเหตุหลักของริ้วรอย"
  • "ผิวขาวเท่านั้นที่สวยและดูดี"

อุตสาหกรรมอาหารเสริม

• ตลาดผลิตภัณฑ์วิตามินดี
• การเติบโตของตลาดอาหารเสริมวิตามินดี
• การผลักดันให้ใช้อาหารเสริมแทนแสงแดด
• ราคาที่สูงเกินความจำเป็น

• การสร้างความเชื่อว่าอาหารเสริมปลอดภัยกว่า

• กลยุทธ์ทางการตลาด

• การใช้ผู้เชี่ยวชาญทางการแพทย์รับรอง
• การนำเสนอผลการวิจัยที่สนับสนุนผลิตภัณฑ์
• การสร้างความกลัวเรื่องการขาดวิตามินดี
• การเชื่อมโยงกับปัญหาสุขภาพต่างๆ

อุตสาหกรรมการแพทย์และความงาม

• คลินิกผิวพรรณและความงาม
• การให้บริการทรีตเมนต์หลบแดด
• การรักษาผิวคล้ำเสียจากแดด
• การฉีดวิตามินและอาหารเสริม

• ทรีตเมนต์ฟื้นฟูผิวราคาแพง

• การแพทย์เฉพาะทาง

• การรักษาผิวหนังที่เน้นยาและเคมีภัณฑ์
• การผ่าตัดและเลเซอร์เพื่อความขาว
• การรักษาริ้วรอยด้วยวิธีราคาแพง
• การละเลยวิธีธรรมชาติบำบัด

เครือข่ายผลประโยชน์ทางธุรกิจ

• ความเชื่อมโยงระหว่างอุตสาหกรรม
• บริษัทยาที่ผลิตทั้งครีมกันแดดและอาหารเสริม
• คลินิกที่จำหน่ายผลิตภัณฑ์ของตัวเอง
• การร่วมมือระหว่างผู้เชี่ยวชาญและบริษัทผลิตภัณฑ์

• เครือข่ายการตลาดและการโฆษณา

• ผลประโยชน์ทับซ้อน

• ผู้เชี่ยวชาญที่เป็นพรีเซ็นเตอร์ผลิตภัณฑ์
• งานวิจัยที่ได้รับทุนจากบริษัทผลิตภัณฑ์
• การให้ข้อมูลที่เอื้อประโยชน์ทางธุรกิจ
• การปิดบังข้อมูลที่อาจกระทบยอดขาย

ผลกระทบต่อผู้บริโภค

• ด้านเศรษฐกิจ
• ค่าใช้จ่ายสูงในการซื้อผลิตภัณฑ์
• การเสียเงินกับทรีตเมนต์ที่ไม่จำเป็น
• ภาระค่าใช้จ่ายระยะยาว

• การลงทุนที่ไม่คุ้มค่ากับผลลัพธ์

• ด้านสุขภาพ

• การขาดแสงแดดที่จำเป็น
• ผลข้างเคียงจากผลิตภัณฑ์
• การพึ่งพาผลิตภัณฑ์มากเกินไป
• ปัญหาสุขภาพที่เกิดจากการหลีกเลี่ยงแสงแดด

อิทธิพลทางสังคมและวัฒนธรรม

• ค่านิยมผิวขาวในสังคมเอเชีย
• รากเหง้าทางประวัติศาสตร์ของการแบ่งชนชั้น
• อิทธิพลของสื่อและดารานักแสดง
• ความเชื่อมโยงระหว่างผิวขาวกับความสำเร็จ

• แรงกดดันทางสังคมในการรักษาผิวให้ขาว

• การเปลี่ยนแปลงวิถีชีวิต

• การทำงานในออฟฟิศเป็นหลัก
• การใช้ชีวิตในห้างสรรพสินค้าและอาคาร
• การลดลงของกิจกรรมกลางแจ้ง
• ความเชื่อว่าการอยู่ในร่มปลอดภัยกว่า

การบิดเบือนข้อมูลทางการแพทย์

การนำเสนอข้อมูลที่ไม่สมดุล

• การเน้นย้ำความเสี่ยงมะเร็งผิวหนัง
• นำเสนอสถิติแบบบิดเบือน
• ไม่แยกแยะระหว่างการรับแดดที่เหมาะสมกับการรับแดดมากเกินไป
• ละเลยการพูดถึงปัจจัยเสี่ยงอื่นๆ

• ไม่ให้ข้อมูลว่าการรับแดดอย่างเหมาะสมอาจช่วยป้องกันมะเร็งบางชนิด

• การละเลยประโยชน์ของแสง UV

• ไม่พูดถึงบทบาทของ UV ในการฆ่าเชื้อโรค
• ปิดบังข้อมูลเรื่องการสร้างวิตามินดีตามธรรมชาติ
• ไม่กล่าวถึงประโยชน์ต่อระบบภูมิคุ้มกัน
• ละเลยผลดีต่อสุขภาพจิต

การสร้างความเข้าใจผิดเกี่ยวกับวิตามินดี

• ความเชื่อเรื่องอาหารเสริม
• สร้างความเชื่อว่าอาหารเสริมดีกว่าแสงแดด
• ไม่เปิดเผยข้อจำกัดของการดูดซึมวิตามินดีจากอาหารเสริม
• ละเลยการพูดถึงผลข้างเคียงของการใช้อาหารเสริมเกินขนาด

• ไม่อธิบายความแตกต่างระหว่างวิตามินดีจากธรรมชาติและสังเคราะห์

• การวิจัยที่มีอคติ

• การศึกษาที่ได้รับทุนจากบริษัทผลิตภัณฑ์กันแดด
• เลือกนำเสนอผลการวิจัยเฉพาะด้านลบ
• ขาดการศึกษาระยะยาวเกี่ยวกับผลดีของแสงแดด
• ไม่เปิดเผยผลประโยชน์ทับซ้อนในงานวิจัย

การบิดเบือนในการรักษาทางการแพทย์

• แนวทางการรักษาที่พึ่งพายา
• เน้นการใช้ยามากกว่าวิธีธรรมชาติ
• ละเลยการแนะนำเรื่องการรับแสงแดด
• สั่งจ่ายอาหารเสริมโดยไม่จำเป็น

• ไม่ให้ความสำคัญกับการปรับพฤติกรรม

• การวินิจฉัยที่ไม่ครอบคลุม

• ไม่ตรวจหาสาเหตุจากการขาดแสงแดด
• มองข้ามความสัมพันธ์ระหว่างแสงแดดกับโรคต่างๆ
• ไม่ซักประวัติเรื่องการรับแสงแดด
• ละเลยการประเมินวิถีชีวิตที่หลีกเลี่ยงแสงแดด

ผลกระทบต่อการรักษา

• การรักษาที่ไม่มีประสิทธิภาพ
• การใช้ยาเกินความจำเป็น
• ค่าใช้จ่ายที่สูงขึ้นโดยไม่จำเป็น
• ผลข้างเคียงจากการรักษาที่ไม่เหมาะสม

• การรักษาที่ไม่แก้ปัญหาที่สาเหตุ

• ปัญหาสุขภาพที่ตามมา

• โรคขาดวิตามินดีที่เพิ่มขึ้น
• ปัญหาสุขภาพจิตจากการหลีกเลี่ยงแสงแดด
• ภาวะแทรกซ้อนจากการใช้ยาระยะยาว
• คุณภาพชีวิตที่ลดลง

ผลกระทบต่อสุขภาพจากความกลัวแดด

• ปัญหาการขาดวิตามินดี
• การระบาดของภาวะขาดวิตามินดีในประชากร
• ผลกระทบต่อสุขภาพกระดูก
• ความเสี่ยงต่อโรคภูมิแพ้และภูมิคุ้มกัน

• ปัญหาสุขภาพจิตที่เพิ่มขึ้น

• ผลกระทบทางสังคมและจิตใจ

• ความวิตกกังวลเกี่ยวกับการออกนอกบ้าน
• การจำกัดกิจกรรมกลางแจ้ง
• ความเครียดจากการต้องดูแลผิวมากเกินไป
• ค่าใช้จ่ายที่สูงขึ้นจากผลิตภัณฑ์ป้องกันแดด

การแก้ไขความเข้าใจผิด

• การให้ข้อมูลที่สมดุล
• นำเสนอทั้งประโยชน์และความเสี่ยง
• แนะนำวิธีการรับแดดที่ปลอดภัย
• สร้างความเข้าใจเรื่องความพอดี

• ให้ความรู้เรื่องการป้องกันที่เหมาะสม

• การปรับเปลี่ยนทัศนคติ

• เปลี่ยนจากการ "กลัวแดด" เป็น "เข้าใจแดด"
• สร้างความตระหนักถึงความสำคัญของแสงแดดต่อสุขภาพ
• ส่งเสริมการใช้ชีวิตที่สมดุลกับธรรมชาติ
• ลดอิทธิพลของค่านิยมผิวขาว

หลักการรับแสงแดดที่ถูกต้องตามแนวทางเฮลิโอเทอราปี

ระยะเวลาและความถี่

• เริ่มจากวันละ 10-15 นาที
• ค่อยๆ เพิ่มเวลา

วิธีการที่ถูกต้อง

• เปิดผิวให้สัมผัสแดดพอประมาณ
• ไม่ใช้สารกันแดด
• สังเกตการตอบสนองของร่างกาย
• ปรับตามสภาพอากาศและฤดูกาล

การประยุกต์ใช้เฮลิโอเทอราปีในชีวิตประจำวัน

กิจกรรมที่แนะนำ

• เดินเช้าหรือเย็น
• ทำสวนในช่วงเวลาที่เหมาะสม
• ออกกำลังกายกลางแจ้งเบาๆ

การผสมผสานกับการดูแลสุขภาพอื่นๆ

• การออกกำลังกาย
• การทำสมาธิกลางแจ้ง
• การทำกิจกรรมผ่อนคลาย

บทสรุป: กลับสู่สมดุลธรรมชาติ

เฮลิโอเทอราปีไม่เพียงเป็นการรักษาโรค แต่ยังเป็นแนวทางในการดูแลสุขภาพแบบองค์รวม การเข้าใจหลักการของเฮลิโอเทอราปีช่วยให้เราตระหนักว่า แสงแดดเป็นส่วนสำคัญของชีวิตที่สมดุล การหวนกลับมาใส่ใจการรับแสงแดดอย่างถูกวิธี จึงเป็นก้าวสำคัญสู่การมีสุขภาพที่ดีอย่างยั่งยืน

แสงแดดเป็น "เพื่อน" ไม่ใช่ "ศัตรู" ของสุขภาพ หากรู้จักใช้ให้เหมาะสม

Don’t trust , (must) Verify

ศึกษาเพิ่มเติมเรื่อง Heliotherapy : https://youtu.be/q5EX5XrR-2A

...................................... ข้อมูลสุขภาพดีๆที่ไม่มีค่าใช้จ่าย https://www.youtube.com/@fastingfatdentist . หากสนใจวิธีการดูแลสุขภาพตามแบบ IFF ปรึกษาส่วนตัว inbox มาสอบถามที่เพจ"หมออ้วนในดงลดน้ำหนัก"หรือ" fastingfatdentist"ได้เลยครับ .

ความน่ากลัวในการดูแลสุขภาพคือการที่เชื่อโดยไม่มีความรู้ .

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IFF #IFF_talk #intermittentfasting #keto #Lowcarb #CD #plantbased #RemissionDiabetes #ร่างกายเราคือธรรมชาติไม่ใช่ยา #เบาหวานหายได้โดยไม่ต้องใช้ยา #หมอไหวของหมอแบบนี

@ 502ab02a:a2860397

แสงแดด วิตามิน D, A, K2-MK7 กับสุขภาพกระดูกและหลอดเลือด ว่าด้วยเรื่องของ DAK2 นั้นเคยเขียนไว้นานแล้ว แต่จำได้ว่าเป็นกึ่งๆบทความบ่นๆ แต่ไม่ได้อธิบายเป็นภาษามนุษย์นักครับว่า ตกลงจะหมายถึงอะไรกันแน่ ด้วยวาระโอกาสจะจบปี 2024 เลยคิดว่า นำมาปิดท้ายเนื้อหาหนักๆช่วงปลายๆของ season3 นี้กันดีกว่า

แสงแดด ไม่ใช่สิ่งที่ควรหลีกเลี่ยงเสมอไป แม้ว่าหลายคนจะกังวลเกี่ยวกับความเสี่ยงของโรคมะเร็งผิวหนัง แต่หากได้รับในปริมาณที่เหมาะสม แสงแดดเป็นสิ่งสำคัญที่ช่วยกระตุ้นกลไกของวิตามิน D ในร่างกาย ซึ่งทำงานร่วมกับ วิตามิน A และ วิตามิน K2-MK7 เพื่อดูแลสุขภาพกระดูกและหลอดเลือด รวมถึงช่วยลดความเสี่ยงจากโรคร้ายแรง เช่น โรคกระดูกพรุนและหลอดเลือดอุดตันครับ บทความนี้จะอธิบายถึงกลไกการทำงานของวิตามินเหล่านี้กับร่างกาย เพื่อส่งเสริมการดูดซึมแคลเซียม ลดการสะสมแคลเซียมผิดที่ และสร้างความเข้าใจว่าความเสี่ยงจากการตากแดดนั้น ต่ำกว่าที่หลายคนเข้าใจนักครับ คือ ถ้าไม่ชอบตากก็ไม่ต้องอ้างอะไรอื่นครับ ลองพิจารณาสิ่งที่ผมจะเล่าให้นี้ก่อนว่าซื้อมั๊ย ผมพยายามจะรวบรัดให้สั้นๆนะครับ

หลักการที่ผมมโนออกมาเป็นคำสั้นๆว่า DAK2 ซึ่งผมมักจะเรียกว่า แดก หรือเต็มๆคือ ตากแดดแล้วแดกด้วย คือกิจกรรมตากแดดของเรานั้น จะส่งผลดีได้อีกด้านนึงด้วย ถ้าคุณได้รับวิตามินครบทั้ง DAK2 ครับ เพราะว่า

-วิตามิน D เป็นรากฐานของการดูดซึมแคลเซียม วิตามิน D เป็นจุดเริ่มต้นของกระบวนการที่ช่วยให้ร่างกายดูดซึมแคลเซียมอย่างมีประสิทธิภาพและนำไปใช้อย่างเหมาะสม เมื่อผิวหนังได้รับรังสี UVB จากแสงแดด ร่างกายจะสังเคราะห์ วิตามิน D3 (cholecalciferol) วิตามิน D3 จะถูกเปลี่ยนเป็น calcidiol ในตับ และcalcitriol ที่ไต ซึ่งตรงนี้นะครับ มันจะถูกเปลี่ยนเป็น calcitriol รูปแบบที่ร่างกายนำไปใช้งานได้ ซึ่งเจ้า Calcitriol นี่แหละที่ ช่วยเพิ่มการดูดซึม แคลเซียม และ ฟอสฟอรัส จากอาหารในลำไส้ ทำให้มีแร่ธาตุเพียงพอสำหรับการสร้างและบำรุงกระดูก

-วิตามิน K2-MK7 รับบทผู้ควบคุมแคลเซียมในร่างกาย วิตามิน K2 ตัวนี้สำคัญ หายากและขาดมากที่สุดครับ โดยเฉพาะในรูปแบบ MK7 (menaquinone-7) มีบทบาทสำคัญในการนำแคลเซียมไปสะสมในกระดูกและป้องกันการสะสมในหลอดเลือด โดย K2 นั้นกระตุ้นโปรตีน osteocalcin ซึ่งทำหน้าที่ดึงแคลเซียมเข้าสู่กระดูก นอกจากนี้ K2 ยังช่วยกระตุ้น matrix Gla-protein (MGP) ซึ่งป้องกันการสะสมแคลเซียมไม่ให้ไปเกาะในหลอดเลือดแดงและเนื้อเยื่ออ่อน ดังนั้นการได้รับ K2 เพียงพอจึงช่วยลดความเสี่ยงของโรคหลอดเลือดอุดตัน

คำถามคือทำไมต้อง MK7???? นั่นเพราะ MK7 มีคุณสมบัติที่เหนือกว่า K2 รูปแบบอื่น เนื่องจากมีการทำงานในร่างกายได้นานกว่าวิตามิน K2 ตัวอื่นๆก่อนจะถูกขับทิ้งออกไป จึงช่วยให้เกิดผลลัพธ์ที่ยาวนานและมีประสิทธิภาพสูงที่สุด

-วิตามิน A ผู้สนับสนุนกระดูกและหลอดเลือด วิตามิน A (ในรูป retinoic acid) ทำงานร่วมกับวิตามิน D และ K2 เพื่อช่วยควบคุมการเจริญเติบโตของกระดูกและลดการสะสมแคลเซียมผิดที่ครับ โดยวิตามิน A จะกระตุ้นเซลล์สร้างกระดูก (osteoblasts) และช่วยปรับสมดุลของเซลล์สลายกระดูก (osteoclasts)ควบคุมการทำงานของเซลล์ทำลายกระดูก รวมถึงมีส่วนช่วยในการสร้างเซลล์เยื่อบุหลอดเลือด (endothelial cells) ให้แข็งแรง ช่วยลดการสะสมของคราบแคลเซียมในหลอดเลือด

เมื่อทำงานร่วมกับ วิตามิน K2 (ที่ป้องกันแคลเซียมสะสมในหลอดเลือด) จะช่วยลดความเสี่ยงของโรคหลอดเลือดอุดตัน แล้ววิตามิน A นั้นก็ยังช่วยเสริมสร้างเซลล์เยื่อบุหลอดเลือด ทำให้หลอดเลือดแข็งแรง ลดความเสี่ยงการสะสมของคราบแคลเซียม เมื่อร่างกายได้รับ วิตามิน A, D, และ K2 ร่วมกัน กระบวนการสร้างกระดูกและการสะสมแร่ธาตุในกระดูกจะมีประสิทธิภาพมากขึ้น

ข้อควรระวัง การได้รับวิตามิน A มากเกินไป (เกิน 10,000 IU/วัน) อาจขัดขวางการทำงานของวิตามิน D และเสี่ยงต่อการสูญเสียมวลกระดูก ดังนั้นควรได้รับในปริมาณที่เหมาะสม ไม่ใช่ว่าพอคิดว่าดีแล้วจัดกันแบบไม่ยั้งนะครับ อันนี้อันตรายนะ

สรุปการทำงานร่วมกันของวิตามิน D, A, K2-MK7 วิตามิน D ช่วยเพิ่มการดูดซึมแคลเซียมและฟอสฟอรัสเข้าสู่กระแสเลือด วิตามิน K2-MK7 ช่วยนำแคลเซียมไปสะสมในกระดูก และป้องกันการสะสมในหลอดเลือด วิตามิน A ช่วยปรับสมดุลการเจริญเติบโตและการสลายกระดูก พร้อมเสริมความแข็งแรงของเยื่อบุหลอดเลือด

อาหารที่ช่วยเสริมวิตามิน D, A, K2-MK7 ปกติเราจะท่องๆกันว่า ในเนื้อวัวตับวัว มีครบเกือบทุกอย่าง เว้นวิตามิน K2 เรามาลองดูตัวอย่างอาหารอื่นๆกันบ้างครับ วิตามิน D: ปลาแซลมอน, ปลาซาร์ดีน, น้ำมันตับปลา วิตามิน A: ตับ, ไข่ วิตามิน K2-MK7: นัตโตะ (ถั่วหมักญี่ปุ่น), ชีส, ไข่ไก่จากไก่ที่เลี้ยงปล่อย ส่วนที่มีคนถามว่า กิมจิหล่ะ คือ กิมจิ มีปริมาณวิตามิน K2 จริงครับแต่โดยปกติจะอยู่ในรูปแบบ MK4 ไม่ใช่ MK7 แคลเซียม: นม, กระดูกอ่อนต่างๆ, น้ำซุปกระดูก. ตับ ทีนี้พอเราเห็นภาพรวมแล้ว ก็ต้องบอกว่า จงเลิกมายาที่ต้องมานั่งท่องว่า ตากแดดเวลาไหนดีที่สุด เพราะคุณไม่ต้องไขว่คว้าหาอะไรที่ดีที่สุดเลยครับ คติของการตากแดดคือ ดีทุกเวลา เอาที่ว่าคุณไหวนั่นแหละ ไอ้ที่บอกว่าตากเช้าดีสุดนี่ ตากเช้าเท่านั้น เวลาอื่นห้ามตาก ตากแล้วจะเป็นมะเร็ง โคตรโม้ครับ อย่าเชื่อผมนะ คุณค่อยๆพิจารณา verify ไปทีละจุด ตากแค่เช้าจะได้อะไร ตากสะสมหลายๆเวลาได้อะไร แล้วประโยคที่ส่งต่อกันจังเลยว่า ตากแดดเช้ามันดีสุดจริงไหม

เลิกถามนะครับ ว่าตากเวลาไหนดีที่สุด มัน out แล้ว

#SundaySpecialเราจะไปเป็นหมูแดดเดียว #กูต้องรู้มั๊ย #PirateKeto

@ ee90543f:9363457f

В условиях стремительного развития технологий значимость так называемых «мягких» навыков, таких как умение общаться, работать в команде и проявлять критическое мышление, значительно возросла. Эксперты отмечают, что сегодня работодатели все больше ценят сотрудников, обладающих развитыми софт-скиллами, способными быстро адаптироваться к изменениям и предлагать нестандартные решения.

Согласно последним исследованиям, образовательные учреждения начали активно внедрять программы, направленные на развитие коммуникативных способностей, эмоционального интеллекта и других важных мягких навыков среди учащихся. Это связано с тем, что традиционные академические знания уже не могут обеспечить выпускникам успешную карьеру без умения эффективно взаимодействовать с коллегами и справляться с различными профессиональными вызовами.

«Интерактивные методы обучения, такие как проектная деятельность, ролевые игры и групповые обсуждения, помогают студентам развивать навыки, необходимые для работы в современных командах», — отмечает Мария Иванова, директор образовательного центра «Прогресс». Она подчеркивает, что такие подходы позволяют учащимся практиковаться в решении реальных задач, что готовит их к конкуренции на рынке труда.

Таким образом, современные учебные заведения трансформируются в площадки для комплексной подготовки будущих профессионалов, где наряду с теоретической базой студенты получают возможность развить важные практические компетенции. Развитие софт-скиллов становится основой для создания конкурентоспособных кадров, готовых успешно интегрироваться в динамичную рабочую среду.

@ 4c86f5a2:935c3564

เวลาที่มีในชีวิตเปรียบได้กับโอกาสที่เข้ามาในช่วงที่ Bitcoin ยังอยู่ในช่วงเริ่มต้น หากไม่รีบฉวยโอกาสในตอนนี้ เราอาจต้องเสียโอกาสในอนาคตไป เช่นเดียวกับคนที่มอง Bitcoin เป็นโอกาสที่สายเกินไปในการเก็บออม #siamstr

@ 78c90fc4:4bff983c

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@ ee90543f:9363457f

20 июня в Москве были представлены амбициозные архитектурные проекты, которые кардинально изменили облик столицы. В рамках выставки "Город будущего" архитекторы и градостроители продемонстрировали свои шедевры для комфортной городской среды.

Помимо этого одним из ключевых проектов стал "Зеленый пояс Москвы", который захватывает обширные сети парков и зеленых зон, соединяющих различные районы города. Архитекторы уверены, что это не только улучшит качество воздуха, но и создаст новые пространства для отдыха и досуга горожан.

Также на выставке был представлен проект "Умный город", который включает в себя внедрение современных технологий в инфраструктуру. Это позволит оптимизировать транспортные потоки, улучшить систему освещения и повысить уровень безопасности на улицах. Не обошлось и без обсуждения новых жилых комплексов, которые уже начали строиться с учетом принципов устойчивого развития. Архитекторы акцентировали внимание на использовании экологически чистых материалов и энергоэффективных технологий.

Градоначальники и эксперты отметили, что эти проекты не только преобразят Москву, но и сделают ее более удобной для жизни, работы и отдыха. Следите за новостями, чтобы не пропустить дальнейшие обновления о будущем столицы!

@ ee90543f:9363457f

В Москве продолжается активное внедрение передовых технологий, которые кардинально меняют повседневную жизнь москвичей. Умные дома, автономный транспорт и цифровые сервисы становятся неотъемлемой частью городской инфраструктуры.

Согласно последним данным, более 80% жилых комплексов в Москве оборудованы системами «умного дома», позволяющими жителям управлять освещением, отоплением и безопасностью через мобильные приложения. Это не только повышает комфорт, но и способствует экономии ресурсов.

Также, автономные электробусы и такси, которые курсируют по улицам города, обеспечивают безопасное и эффективное передвижение. Благодаря интеграции с городской системой управления движением, они минимизируют пробки и сокращают время в пути.

Кроме того, цифровые платформы для взаимодействия с городскими службами становятся всё более популярными. Москвичи могут легко сообщать о проблемах с инфраструктурой, записываться на прием к врачам и получать информацию о культурных событиях через единую мобильную платформу.

Эксперты отмечают, что такие изменения не только улучшают качество жизни, но и делают Москву более устойчивой и экологически чистой.

@ b8a9df82:6ab5cbbd

Four weeks after Adopting Bitcoin wrapped up, I find myself back in Buenos Aires. While one of the main reasons for staying is avoiding the dreary Berlin winter, the other, much stronger reason, is the people.

Anyone who knows me knows I’m a beach person through and through—dreaming of one day living in a house by the ocean. Argentina, with its economic quirks and geographical realities, isn’t exactly the ideal spot for that dream. Yet, here I am again, drawn not by the landscapes but by something far more meaningful: its people.

When I first wrote about my experience at Labitconf, I mentioned "LaCrypta" a local Bitcoin community that captured my heart. For those unfamiliar, the name might sound like it’s tied to crypto, but it’s not—it simply means “The Crypt.” And when you visit their physical space in the heart of Buenos Aires, the name suddenly makes perfect sense.

La Crypta isn’t just a community; it’s the beating heart of Bitcoin culture here. It’s a group of passionate people dedicated to development, education, and sharing knowledge about Bitcoin and the Nostr ecosystem. Their mission goes far beyond tech—it’s about empowerment, collaboration, and creating a space where ideas flourish.

Before I arrived in Buenos Aires, I had already worked with some of the La Crypta crew remotely. From the very start, they were more than helpful—honestly, they saved me more times than I can count. Organizing, finding suppliers, translating, navigating cultural nuances—things that would’ve been impossible as a foreigner were made smooth thanks to their constant support.

Even when cultural differences came into play, they did their best to accommodate my eager German punctuality. Sure, we had a couple of missed calls here and there (they’re South American, after all!), but we found a rhythm, and I learned to relax and embrace their way of doing things.

I’ll never forget walking into the physical space for the first time. The house itself is a marvel—a 100-year-old gem tucked into the bustling city, its walls whispering history. Interestingly, it was originally built by Germans (I could tell right away), and every corner is rich with quirks and stories. Newcomers are given a guided tour, learning about the house’s past and its idiosyncrasies, which they’re then responsible for passing on to the next wave of visitors. It’s a brilliant tradition, one that fosters a sense of connection to the place.

The charm of La Crypta’s space is undeniable—a century-old house surrounded by modern skyscrapers, standing out like a time capsule in the middle of the city. Of course, not everyone loves it. The neighbors occasionally complain about the raucous parties, even calling the police. But, as I’ve learned, in Argentina, there’s always a workaround for things like that.

The real magic, though, isn’t in the house—it’s in the people. After weeks of working together remotely, meeting them in person for the first time was something special. There’s nothing quite like hugging the people you’ve shared so much time, effort, and anticipation with, knowing how deeply they care.

They welcomed me with open arms, not just as a collaborator but as a friend. From day one, they’ve been my mental and emotional support system, offering far more than help with logistics. Their generosity, warmth, and genuine care reminded me that some of the most valuable things in life aren’t tied to money—they’re tied to human connection.

We bonded in so many ways, but nothing quite tops their initiation ritual: mate. For the uninitiated, mate is a traditional South American drink with a very specific etiquette. You don’t say “thank you” unless you’re done, you don’t stir the straw, and, naturally, I did everything wrong at first. But despite their teasing, I genuinely fell in love with mate, even if they still can’t believe me!

A home away from home

As I write this, just 10 days before Christmas, I’m missing my family and friends back home in Berlin. On quiet Saturday mornings like this, I wish I could just jump on a plane and hug them, feel the warmth of familiarity. But even in these moments of longing, I find comfort here. The people of La Crypta have become a surrogate family, filling my heart with their kindness and making the distance feel a little less heavy.

This experience has been life-changing. No matter where I go from here, I’ll carry a piece of La Crypta and Buenos Aires with me. For anyone who ever has the chance to visit, I urge you to experience this for yourself. The people, the place, the culture—it’s something that can’t be explained, only felt.

It’s not just a community; it’s a family. And for that, I’ll forever be grateful.

@ dd664d5e:5633d319

Christmas season hasn't actually started, yet, in Roman #Catholic Germany. We're in Advent until the evening of the 24th of December, at which point Christmas begins (with the Nativity, at Vespers), and continues on for 40 days until Mariä Lichtmess (Presentation of Christ in the temple) on February 2nd.

It's 40 days because that's how long the post-partum isolation is, before women were allowed back into the temple (after a ritual cleansing).

That is the day when we put away all of the Christmas decorations and bless the candles, for the next year. (Hence, the British name "Candlemas".) It used to also be when household staff would get paid their cash wages and could change employer. And it is the day precisely in the middle of winter.

Between Christmas Eve and Candlemas are many celebrations, concluding with the Twelfth Night called Epiphany or Theophany. This is the day some Orthodox celebrate Christ's baptism, so traditions rotate around blessing of waters.

The Monday after Epiphany was the start of the farming season, in England, so that Sunday all of the ploughs were blessed, but the practice has largely died out.

Our local tradition is for the altar servers to dress as the wise men and go door-to-door, carrying their star and looking for the Baby Jesus, who is rumored to be lying in a manger.

They collect cash gifts and chocolates, along the way, and leave the generous their powerful blessing, written over the door. The famous 20 * C + M + B * 25 blessing means "Christus mansionem benedicat" (Christ, bless this house), or "Caspar, Melchior, Balthasar" (the names of the three kings), depending upon who you ask.

They offer the cash to the Baby Jesus (once they find him in the church's Nativity scene), but eat the sweets, themselves. It is one of the biggest donation-collections in the world, called the "Sternsinger" (star singers). The money goes from the German children, to help children elsewhere, and they collect around €45 million in cash and coins, every year.

As an interesting aside:

The American "groundhog day", derives from one of the old farmers' sayings about Candlemas, brought over by the Pennsylvania Dutch. It says, that if the badger comes out of his hole and sees his shadow, then it'll remain cold for 4 more weeks. When they moved to the USA, they didn't have any badgers around, so they switched to groundhogs, as they also hibernate in winter.

@ ee90543f:9363457f

И вновь столица демонстрирует выдающиеся успехи в области инклюзии, внедряя инновационные подходы и программы, которые делают город доступным для всех его жителей. Местные власти активно работают над созданием среды, в которой каждый человек, независимо от своих возможностей, может полноценно участвовать в жизни общества.

Одним из ключевых направлений является развитие доступного общественного транспорта. Все новые автобусы и трамваи оборудованы специальными местами для людей с ограниченными возможностями. Это позволяет без труда передвигаться по городу и добираться до работы, учебы.

В образовательной сфере столица внедряет инклюзивные программы, которые обеспечивают равные возможности для детей с особыми потребностями. Школы активно сотрудничают с психологами и специалистами, чтобы создать индивидуальные образовательные планы, учитывающие потребности каждого ученика.

Культурные мероприятия также становятся более доступными. Музеи и театры предлагают специальные сеансы с субтитрами и жестовым переводом, что позволяет людям с нарушениями слуха и зрения наслаждаться искусством наравне с остальными.

Городские инициативы по инклюзии не остаются незамеченными. Множество организаций и активистов отмечают, что такие изменения способствуют созданию более сплоченного и дружелюбного общества, где каждый чувствует себя важным и нужным.

@ ee90543f:9363457f

В Москве вступил в силу новый стандарт оказания медицинской помощи: С 26 декабря 2040 года в столице России начинает действовать новый стандарт медицинской помощи, который обещает кардинально изменить подход к здравоохранению и улучшить качество жизни москвичей. Персонализированная медицина: новый стандарт включает внедрение передовых технологий и искусственного интеллекта, что позволяет каждому жителю города получать доступ к персонализированной медицине с учетом индивидуальных особенностей организма. Анализ больших данных и генетическое тестирование помогут врачам заранее выявлять риски заболеваний и разрабатывать профилактические меры для каждого пациента. «Умные» медицинские устройства: Одним из ключевых нововведений является использование «умных» медицинских устройств, которые круглосуточно отслеживают состояние здоровья пациентов и передают данные врачам в режиме реального времени. Это позволит оперативно реагировать на изменения в состоянии здоровья и предотвращать серьезные заболевания до их проявления. Расширение возможностей телемедицины: В рамках нового стандарта значительно расширены возможности телемедицины. Теперь консультации с врачами можно получать не только по видеосвязи, но и с использованием голографических технологий, что делает общение более удобным и эффективным. Поддержка психического здоровья: Также в рамках нового стандарта активно развиваются программы поддержки психического здоровья. В каждом районе города открываются специализированные центры, где жители могут получить помощь психологов и психотерапевтов без необходимости долго ждать. По словам мэра Москвы Сергея Собянина, этот шаг стал важным этапом в развитии системы здравоохранения столицы и позволит обеспечить жителей качественными медицинскими услугами на уровне мировых стандартов.

@ b8a9df82:6ab5cbbd

In March 2020, the world came to a halt. Finally reading "The Bitcoin Standard" and Michael Saylor’s prologue to it made me reflect on my own journey during that time—a journey that led to The Extraordinary. Isn’t it fascinating how the same global crisis made us all pause, look beneath the surface, and come out with completely different perspectives on life?

For me, the pandemic wasn’t just a disruption—it was a turning point. In the stillness, I was forced to face my demons: addiction, emptiness, and the endless search for something meaningful. What emerged wasn’t just a book, but a deep personal transformation.

The Extraordinary is inspired by my life in London during those chaotic years—filled with incredible highs and crushing lows. It’s a story about hitting rock bottom and finding a way back up. It’s about the facade of big-city life, where envy often wears the mask of morality, and the struggle to accept yourself in a world that rarely allows it.

What’s different now? Everything. I live a completely different life today. Writing The Extraordinary helped me confront what I couldn’t before—and now, I finally have the courage to share it here with you on Nostr.

If you’ve ever felt stuck, lost, or out of place in your own life, this book is for you. I’d love for you to read it and let me know your thoughts. Because sometimes, in writing a story for ourselves, we find the strength to connect with others.

Unfortunately, it's only available on Amazon for now, as I haven't figured out how to do print-on-demand here on Nostr yet #asknostr

Blurb:

1. THEY SAID YOU WILL EARN A LOT OF MONEY,
2. THEY SAID THEY WILL GIVE YOU A CAR,
3. THEY SAID YOU WILL BE SUCCESSFUL,
4. THEY SAID IT WILL BE FUN.

However Kate Blumenhagen never wanted to be her company‘s whore, nor lose control about the men’s world. In a city where envy often masquerades as morality. What happens when the system collapses, the perfect façade breaks down and everybody‘s darling only shines on the outside? A tribute to all those who can't stand still for five minutes!

@ f3df9bc0:a95119eb

Welcome! 🌱

Interesting places to start: - Latest polished pieces: [[Latest Articles Index]] - Index of all articles by discipline: [[Discipline Index]]

About this site

This site is both a blog & wiki-style digital garden. Some ideas you’ll run into here may be of quality, others will be less interesting, not fully formed, or even just straight wrong. This is intentional. Content here is continuously cultivated and refined as I live my life and gain new experiences, and I welcome challenges to anything I’ve written.

The general idea behind this is that my unstructured thought is fast and divergent, but not coherent, and therefore difficult to use in any practical way. The process of writing is a forcing function for taking divergent thought and bringing it into a form that can be reasoned about, improved upon, or discarded as irrelevant. Stalling this process is counter-productive and can lead to a sort of comatose where the mind is stuck in the abstract, waiting for confidence on a particular strain of thought, but never making any progress.

Therefore there is no set topic for this garden, instead it’s purpose is to serve as an auxiliary brain for any and all topics that I find interesting and worth spending time refining.

Contact

• nostr: slipstream@htlc.io
• farcaster: @htlc

@ fd78c37f:a0ec0833

The rise of Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies has not only changed the global financial landscape but also sparked innovation and development in communities worldwide. In particular, Asia, as a hub for technological innovation and economic growth, has seen multiple Bitcoin communities play a key role in driving the adoption and application of digital currencies. From educational programs to technical support, and from business promotion to policy advocacy, Bitcoin communities in Asia are pushing forward the use and development of Bitcoin across various fields. This article will focus on 20 Bitcoin communities in Asia, exploring their latest progress and future visions in promoting Bitcoin technology, education, and economic empowerment. It aims to provide readers with an in-depth perspective on the Asian Bitcoin ecosystem and its global impact. Thank you, YakiHonne nostr:npub1yzvxlwp7wawed5vgefwfmugvumtp8c8t0etk3g8sky4n0ndvyxesnxrf8q, for supporting the publication of the Bitcoin Community Newsletter. Most of the content has been reviewed and confirmed by the South American communities. If there are any omissions, please feel free to reach out to me.

1.Bitcoin Indonesia * Introduction Bitcoin Indonesia is an international team of 21 Bitcoin enthusiasts dedicated to enabling the people, businesses, and government of Indonesia to easily access and use Bitcoin. The team's mission is to provide reliable Bitcoin information and educational resources to help Indonesians understand the value and potential of Bitcoin, especially in the digital economy. Through monthly meetups, an online education platform, and professional consulting services, Bitcoin Indonesia bridges the gap between individuals, businesses, and the government, connecting them to the world of Bitcoin. The goal is to educate 100 million Indonesians about Bitcoin by 2030, promoting prosperity and freedom for the nation. * Latest Updates Recently, the Bitcoin Indonesia community has been actively organizing a series of events focused on promoting and educating people about Bitcoin. In November, the community hosted the BitDevs Meetup, where they explored tools for planning Bitcoin inheritance. They also launched a Bitcoin price prediction giveaway to encourage user engagement. Additionally, the community successfully completed an online diploma course, certifying 38 local participants. They visited the Taruna Bakti Foundation in Bandung, Indonesia, introducing Bitcoin to 700 middle school students and inspiring them to join the Bitcoin community. Meanwhile, the community is gearing up for the upcoming Team Hackathon in January, where the winning team will receive a prize of 10,000,000 IDR.

2.Righshift nostr:npub1ejn774qahqmgjsfajawy7634unk88y26yktvwuzp9kfgdeejx9mqdm97a5 * Introduction Right Shift is a community dedicated to becoming a hub for Bitcoin-related content and discussions. Its mission is to support the growing Thai Bitcoin community by curating and translating high-quality Bitcoin content, providing essential insights and knowledge for navigating the world of hard money. In addition to educational resources, Right Shift offers a curated selection of Bitcoin merchandise and plans to develop more impactful learning experiences in the future. As Bitcoin matures and evolves, the community is committed to driving Bitcoin adoption and a circular economy through its products and marketplace. * Latest Updates Recently, the Right Shift community has been actively promoting Bitcoin education and awareness through the #Siamstr initiative. They organized various live streams, discussions, and offline meetups in Thailand, such as the "Right Talk" series and the Korat101 gathering, focusing on Bitcoin philosophy, the "Value for Value" (V4V) concept, and utilizing platforms like Nostr to support Bitcoin creators. Additionally, the community has participated in several collaborative projects, developing Bitcoin-related tools such as savings devices and information relay services.

3.Neutronpay * Introduction Neutronpay is a community focused on empowering businesses and individuals through the use of the Lightning Network to enable borderless, open global finance. With cutting-edge technology, Neutronpay facilitates near-instant transactions, creating a real-time financial ecosystem that operates anywhere, anytime. The platform strives to make the Lightning Network accessible to everyone, from small business owners in rural Vietnam to multinational companies in New York. By eliminating barriers such as currency conversion, transaction fees, and time delays, Neutronpay transforms money into a bridge connecting people, businesses, and ideas. * Latest Updates Recently, Neutronpay has been actively expanding its Bitcoin and Lightning Network services, particularly in the Asia-Pacific region. They announced a strategic partnership with BitGo Singapore to further broaden their offerings. Neutronpay also expanded its payout capabilities to 16 countries, enabling fast and secure Lightning Payments conversion into local currencies. Additionally, they participated in the 2024 Vietnam Tech Impact event, showcasing their innovations in fintech and blockchain applications. These efforts demonstrate Neutronpay's commitment to enabling seamless financial transactions for businesses and consumers through the Lightning Network.

4.Tokyo citadel * Introduction Tokyo Citadel is a community built around the vision of creating a sovereign space for Bitcoin holders to thrive. Inspired by the idea of Bitcoin as a defense against economic collapse and societal unrest, the community aims to gather and educate new Bitcoin users in Tokyo. The concept draws from the notion that Bitcoin can serve as a protective barrier against inflation, government overreach, and authoritarian regimes. * Latest Updates Recently, the Tokyo Citadel community released several new podcast episodes covering topics such as Bitcoin, macroeconomics, and politics. They discussed subjects like “Meaningless Meetups in Mexico” and “The Ghost of Abe Will Pump Our Bags,” encouraging further discussion about the future of Bitcoin and global economics. Additionally, the community has been actively engaging with members through their Telegram discussion group, fostering exchanges on Bitcoin and related political and economic topics, while continuing to promote Bitcoin education and community building.

5.Bitcoin Beach Vietnam * Introduction Bitcoin Beach Vietnam is inspired by the Bitcoin Beach initiative in El Salvador, aiming to create a Bitcoin-friendly ecosystem in Vietnam. Powered by the Neutronpay Bitcoin Lightning app, it offers seamless VND on/off ramps for easy Bitcoin transactions. * Latest Updates Recently, there have been no new updates from the community. The latest event dates back to May 2024, when the Bitcoin Beach Vietnam community highlighted the impressive quality of Vietnamese products and their growing demand globally.

6.BOB space nostr:npub1j580xmzqdvqp8rsv04m562kkvfj6yvp226m97yc88q72cxekucesamh4up * Introduction BOB Space is a Bitcoin-focused incubator, coworking space, and hub located in the heart of Krung Thep, Thailand. The community supports Bitcoin education, adoption, and the advocacy of free technology. With a mission to foster innovation, BOB Space hosts a developer residency program aimed at empowering Bitcoin ecosystem developers. Weekly Bitcoin workshops, groundbreaking innovation talks, and technical events such as Bitdevs are organized to bring together like-minded individuals. Additionally, BOB Radio features discussions with Bitcoin builders from around the world, offering valuable insights into the ecosystem. * Latest Updates Recently, the BOB Space community hosted the 4Q2024 BitDevs event at the Bitcoin Learning Center in Chiang Mai, Thailand. The event featured a Socratic-style seminar, delving deep into Bitcoin scaling, with a particular focus on the applications, risks, and future developments of the Ark protocol. In addition, the community shared updates on Bitcoin developer meetups, including the event held in Chiang Mai, as well as a donation to the Bitcoin Development Fund.

7.The Bitcoin Learning Center nostr:npub1c9r9lad84kpqwnh09u58vdzwnfsnxcr7a40uf5ulkpdguq4667jsgaxu4k * Introduction The Bitcoin Learning Center in Chiang Mai is a leading educational hub, co-founded in 2022 by Jimmy Kostro and Napatsanun Chatchayaladasiri (Fai). The center is dedicated to promoting financial inclusion through Bitcoin and creating sustainable economic opportunities for underserved communities in northern Thailand. As a core program of the Kostro Foundation, the center focuses on Bitcoin-centered education, research, and infrastructure development to drive real-world impact. Its mission is to provide communities with the knowledge and tools needed to achieve economic independence through the transformative power of Bitcoin. * Latest Updates Recently, the community has been actively promoting Bitcoin-related projects with a strong focus on technical support and community engagement. A Bitcoin Christmas Party was held at the Bitcoin Learning Center in Chiang Mai to strengthen connections among Bitcoin users in the region. Additionally, in collaboration with BOB Space, the community donated Bitcoin mining machines to a remote solar-powered village in northern Thailand, helping local residents transform surplus energy into a source of income. Furthermore, the community organized a high-level Bitcoin meetup, bringing together 50 experienced Bitcoin enthusiasts from over 10 countries for in-depth discussions.

8.Bitcoiner Malaysia nostr:npub1x42vvsc96wcnnea38y7390hhgs7f6t8hk4rm08pwtt7stlav9avsv7j5rm * Introduction Bitcoin Malaysia is a pioneer in the country's Bitcoin space, established in 2012, dedicated to educating the public about Bitcoin and its applications through various events and resources. The community regularly hosts workshops, meetups, and both online and offline activities, offering opportunities for beginners and professionals to deepen their understanding. Additionally, it focuses on promoting blockchain technology locally, fostering a platform for knowledge sharing and collaborative innovation. * Latest Updates Recently, the Bitcoiner Malaysia community has been actively promoting Bitcoin education and fostering community engagement. On October 25th, they hosted their monthly meetup at My Espresso Café, where participants used the Lightning Network to purchase coffee or beer, connected with fellow Bitcoin enthusiasts, and explored ways Bitcoin can address societal challenges. Additionally, the community organized a Q&A session featuring renowned Bitcoin experts Saifedean Ammous and Stephan Livera. The discussion delved into key topics such as the comparison between fiat currency and Bitcoin, Bitcoin's role in the global economy, scalability, and lending within the Bitcoin ecosystem.

9.Bitcoin Association of Hong Kong * Introduction The Bitcoin Association of Hong Kong (BAHK), established in the summer of 2012, is dedicated to promoting and advancing Bitcoin and its related technologies in Hong Kong. The association’s mission is to educate the public, the private sector, and government entities about the benefits and risks of Bitcoin, becoming a reliable resource for the local and international Bitcoin communities. Over the years, BAHK has hosted more than 250 events and has built a network of over 5,000 members, including experts from over 30 countries. The association regularly organizes meetups, workshops, and online events to foster collaboration and interaction among Bitcoin enthusiasts and professionals. * Latest Updates Recently, the Bitcoin Association of Hong Kong has been actively promoting Bitcoin and cryptocurrency-related topics. They hosted a Bitcoin meetup on November 21, attracting Bitcoin enthusiasts and developers who engaged in discussions about cryptocurrency and its applications while splitting bills using Bitcoin or the Lightning Network. The association has also focused on significant developments such as the attitudes of central banks toward Bitcoin, the Hong Kong government's licensing of cryptocurrency exchanges, and the reaction of Chinese funds to the Bitcoin boom.

10.Bitcoin Embassy Tel Aviv * Introduction Bitcoin Embassy TLV is a grassroots initiative aimed at providing a space for the community and Bitcoin enthusiasts to engage in discussions about decentralized digital currencies. The embassy organizes various events and projects to foster collaboration and knowledge sharing. Founded by Ayal Segev, a core member of the Israeli Bitcoin community, the embassy also involves participants such as programmer and security expert Gil Assayag, and Bitcoin promoter Assaf Bahat. The embassy's mission is to encourage exploration and innovation in the cryptocurrency space. * Latest Updates Recently, the Bitcoin Embassy has been active with various events and updates. On December 8th, they successfully hosted a celebration in Tel Aviv to mark their 11th anniversary, featuring balloons, music, and cake, which brought together many community members in a festive atmosphere. Additionally, the community shared updates about its white paper, which was released on October 31st, showcasing its ongoing efforts to promote interaction and knowledge-sharing within the Bitcoin community.

11.Bitcoin Harbour nostr:npub1aj4z0w4v5ggv8kl6kde5lsqw2jpca296gd60ns3ys9vlwpahx9qqktn9an * Introduction Bitcoin Harbour is located in Princess Harbour, Johor, Malaysia, just a stone's throw from Singapore, strategically positioned in Southeast Asia. Guided by the principles of low time preference and proof of work, the community is dedicated to creating an inclusive Bitcoin coastal hub—a perfect setting for life, work, and family. * Latest Updates Recently, there have been no new updates from the community. The latest event dates back to Aug 2024, an event announcement has been posted for the community's monthly meetup on September 27 at Restoran Arab Zaatar in Puteri Harbour, Johor, Malaysia. The theme is “Post-Summer Meetup,” offering Bitcoin enthusiasts a chance to connect and engage.

12.Bitcoin Island Philippines * Introduction Bitcoin Island is a community based in Boracay, Philippines, dedicated to promoting the adoption of Bitcoin and the Lightning Network in the local area. The community's core mission is to encourage merchants to accept Bitcoin payments, creating a Bitcoin-based economic ecosystem that allows residents and visitors to enjoy fast, secure, and low-cost payment experiences. * Latest Updates Recently, the community has shared one update，posted featuring a promotional tagline from Pouch.ph，Empowering the Philippines through Bitcoin: Secure, Trusted, and Principled.

13.Bitcoin Powerhouse Phuket * Introduction Bitcoin Powerhouse Phuket is a Bitcoin community based in Phuket, Thailand, dedicated to promoting the application and education of Bitcoin in the local area. The community regularly hosts meetups and events, inviting both Bitcoin enthusiasts and newcomers to engage, share experiences, and exchange insights. * Latest Updates Recently, there have been no new updates from the community. The latest event dates back to Aug 2024, when they announced the 11th Bitcoin meetup in Phuket, scheduled for September 10 at Nakarin in Kathu.

14.Bitcoin Saigon nostr:npub192chqkpxm7lfrgufmfd9a9lj7u54078zdzgtvtgz4yg7smz0e7wqzfswzg * Introduction Bitcoin Saigon was founded by Diana Ngo, Khoa Tran, and Dominik Weil. The community has hosted over 100 events and meetups, bringing together Bitcoin enthusiasts, developers, researchers, and investors. Bitcoin Saigon aims to build a strong local network of Bitcoin supporters, businesses, and developers, fostering education, innovation, and creating job opportunities in the Bitcoin ecosystem. * Latest Updates Recently, Bitcoin Saigon has been actively preparing for the Satoshi Flea Market - Christmas Edition, set to take place in Saigon on December 8, and is calling for donations in the form of sats for the event. The community is also focusing on the first Bitcoin meetup in Hanoi on December 11, where topics on Bitcoin and Austrian economics will be discussed.

15.Dubai Citadel * Introduction Dubai Citadel is a Bitcoin-only community in the UAE, focused on promoting Bitcoin adoption and fostering a strong, decentralized ecosystem. With Dubai's growing role as a hub for cryptocurrency innovation, the community aims to connect Bitcoin enthusiasts, developers, and investors. * Latest Updates Recently, there have been no new updates from the community.The latest event dates back to Oct 2024, when it was shared that the UAE has removed the VAT on #Bitcoin transfers and exchanges.

16.Seoul Bitcoin Meetup * Introduction Seoul Bitcoin is a community that hosts monthly Bitcoin meetups, offering education and technical support, especially for beginners. The meetups are organized by volunteers and focus on Bitcoin technology rather than trading or investing, aiming to share enthusiasm and knowledge about Bitcoin. In addition to regular meetups, the community conducts educational activities via platforms like YouTube, Twitter, Facebook, and Kakaotalk, and provides weekly technical meetups for those interested in a deeper understanding. * Latest Updates Recently,there have been no new updates from the community.The latest event dates back to may 2024, when it was announced that the Utreexo test version was released on GitHub, and the publisher mentioned syncing their archive node on a Raspberry Pi 0 .

17.NZBitcoiners nostr:npub1dtvk6tcay9drd7n7x25vl3h30eu6e590qwlysyan03pepvglc7jsupqwt2 * Introduction NZBitcoiners, after being banned from all crypto/blockchain groups in New Zealand, started a few Bitcoin-only groups to create a focused space for Bitcoin education and community building. These groups aim to foster meaningful discussions, share knowledge, and support the growth of the Bitcoin ecosystem in New Zealand, free from the distractions of other cryptocurrencies. * Latest Updates Recently, NZBitcoiners has been actively involved in organizing events and discussions related to Bitcoin and local governance. The community promoted the upcoming “Business Blueprint” event in Auckland and plans to participate in Bitcoin Week discussions scheduled for February next year. Additionally, they engaged in promoting local meetups, including gatherings at venues like Urbanaut Brewing Co. in Auckland, and continued to share thoughts on New Zealand's political landscape and the importance of Bitcoin for financial sovereignty.

18.Melbourne Bitcoin Only * Introduction Melbourne Bitcoin Only is a community focused solely on Bitcoin, excluding altcoins, ICOs, or “blockchain projects.” It aims to provide a space for learning and discussing Bitcoin-related topics. Whether you are a beginner or an experienced participant, the community is dedicated to education and fostering discussions about Bitcoin's technology, principles, and its role in the financial ecosystem. * Latest Updates Recently, there have been no new updates from the community. The latest event dates back to August 2023, when a post was shared about the Bitcoin Jungle Carnival held at the RSL Hall in Murrurundi.

19.Bitkiwi * Introduction Bitkiwi is New Zealand's leading Bitcoin community, publishing The Bitkiwi Brief to provide subscribers with the latest Bitcoin news and analysis. Their mission is to promote the adoption and understanding of Bitcoin in New Zealand, helping community members gain a deeper understanding of Bitcoin's technological, economic, and social impacts. * Latest Updates Recently, the Bitkiwi community has been releasing several editions of the Bitkiwi Brief, offering a New Zealand perspective on the latest Bitcoin news. They have also explored Bitcoin-related books, nostr:npub1trr5r2nrpsk6xkjk5a7p6pfcryyt6yzsflwjmz6r7uj7lfkjxxtq78hdpu Check Your Financial Privilege, and shared updates on #BitkiwiXII. Additionally, Bitkiwi provided in-depth analysis on Bitcoin's value and the impact of currency devaluation, while continuing to promote the revolutionary ideas of Bitcoin, emphasizing its equality and decentralization.

20.Bitcoin Sydney * Introduction Bitcoin Sydney is a vibrant community focused on bringing together Bitcoin enthusiasts through talks, educational events, and social meetups. Monthly Bitcoin-themed talks feature industry experts, while regular “After Work Drinks” offer informal networking opportunities. The community also hosts online “Socratic Seminars” with renowned Bitcoin developers for in-depth discussions. Whether you're a beginner or an experienced participant, Bitcoin Sydney provides a platform for learning, sharing, and connecting. * Latest Updates Recently, the community has shared an update, which hosted a Q&A session with local legends nostr:npub1qh5sal68c8swet6ut0w5evjmj6vnw29x3k967h7atn45unzjyeyq6ceh9r, nostr:npub1nul4qg8he2dyn3hsyk4a3vcr963vakskyjp43yv9dy7j9frd7yhqh28x3m, and discussed the impact of a Bitcoin-supportive White House and the resulting bull market.

@ 16d11430:61640947

For centuries, financial markets have been shackled by an archaic mindset rooted in Newtonian physics: "What goes up must come down." This belief has dominated the thinking of old-school fiat economists, who view the rise and fall of markets as a natural cycle of gravity-bound economics. But Bitcoin, the digital phoenix, was designed to defy this outdated paradigm. It isn't just an asset class or a currency—it's a revolution in financial physics, unshackling value from centralized control and rewriting the rules of money.

The Fiat Fallacy: Gravity Economics

Fiat systems are inherently cyclical, prone to inflation, manipulation, and collapse. Central banks print money endlessly, causing value to "come down" as purchasing power erodes. For fiat thinkers, this is unavoidable—a gravitational force they accept as immutable. Yet this mindset ignores Bitcoin’s game-changing properties: its hard cap of 21 million coins, decentralized consensus, and permissionless architecture.

Bitcoin is fundamentally non-Newtonian. It doesn’t adhere to traditional financial laws because it isn't bound by the same forces of supply and control. Instead, it operates in a new paradigm: deflationary, transparent, and immune to political meddling.

Bitcoin's Escape Velocity

Bitcoin's dominance lies in its ability to achieve escape velocity. Unlike fiat currencies, which are constantly being pulled back by inflationary policies, Bitcoin is propelled by its scarcity, adoption, and network effects. Every halving event tightens the supply, creating an upward pressure that fiat systems can't replicate. And as global trust in traditional systems erodes, Bitcoin's gravitational pull grows stronger.

This phenomenon is evident in the adoption curve. Institutions, governments, and individuals worldwide are recognizing Bitcoin as a superior store of value, an inflation hedge, and the ultimate form of financial sovereignty. The more participants enter the network, the more its value compounds, creating a virtuous cycle of exponential growth.

Humiliating the Old Guard

The fiat establishment—steeped in centuries of centralized control—has long dismissed Bitcoin as a bubble, a fad, or even a Ponzi scheme. Yet, year after year, Bitcoin rises from the ashes of their predictions. Its resilience, transparency, and provable scarcity expose the fragility and corruption of fiat systems.

The ultimate humiliation for fiat thinkers is Bitcoin's ability to thrive in crises. Where traditional systems falter—be it through hyperinflation, bank failures, or geopolitical instability—Bitcoin becomes a lifeboat. It doesn’t just resist gravity; it flips the entire script. Fiat currencies are revealed as infinite-print illusions, while Bitcoin’s immutable ledger stands as the ultimate arbiter of truth and value.

A New Financial Paradigm

Bitcoin’s ascent is not merely about price; it’s about domination. It represents a shift from centralized control to individual empowerment, from opaque systems to transparent protocols, from inflationary theft to deflationary savings. It’s a financial singularity, an escape from the gravitational pull of outdated thinking.

As Bitcoin continues its trajectory, the old world of "what goes up must come down" will look increasingly absurd. In its place, a new principle will reign: what’s decentralized cannot be stopped. Bitcoin isn’t just leaving Earth’s orbit; it’s becoming the financial universe’s North Star.

So buckle up, because Bitcoin isn’t just going up—it’s transcending. And as it does, it will leave the Newtonian thinkers in the dust, staring in disbelief at the rocket that left them behind.

@ 6538925e:571e55c3

The excitement and romance of finding new tunes in serendipitous ways is under attack by music streaming apps. Compilation albums, mix tapes, magazines and crate digging have been replaced by algorithmic playlists that lack human touch and authenticity.

We are being programmed to listen to more of the same. New artists are finding it harder than ever before to break through and get their music in front of new listeners - not to mention achieve the impossible dream of making a living from their music. This has to change.

Earlier this year, we started beta testing a new communal listening experience on our website called Fountain Radio. The basic idea was to have a global queue where you pay to play a track - just like the old jukeboxes you can still find in some pubs and bars. You could pay upvote a track to change its position in the queue - and you could send a payment to support the artist currently playing.

This early iteration of Fountain Radio was far from perfect, but it got us excited about discovering new music again. Today we are excited to launch a new and improved Fountain Radio experience in the mobile app - and give artists the ability to host a takeover. After updating to version 1.1.8, you will be able to tune in to Fountain Radio from the Discover tab. Here’s how it works…

#### Add and upvote tracks in the queue

Search for tracks in your library or search all music on Fountain. Adding a track to the costs 100 sats (less than $0.10) and your selection will be added to the end of the queue. You can pay to upvote any track in the queue to change its position. 1 sat equals 1 upvote and the track with the most upvotes will play next. Just like zaps, you can pay as much as you like but the minimum is 100 sats.

#### Support the artist currently playing

Boost to send a payment with a message on enable streaming to send a small amount for every minute you spend listening. 95% of every boost and streaming payment goes directly to the artist currently playing and the remaining 5% is set aside for fees paid to PodcastIndex and Fountain.

#### Post in the live chat

Hang out with other listeners in the live chat by connecting Nostr. You can post chat messages for free. Every time a track is added or upvoted this appears in the activity feed too.

#### Save tracks to your library

Listen to your latest discoveries again later in the app. Tap on any content card to add a song to your library or a playlist, or see more music from that artist.

#### Listen to Fountain Radio on other apps

Fountain Radio now has its own RSS feed so you can tune in on any podcast app that supports live streams. Just bear in mind that you will only be able to listen. If you use Nostr livestream platforms such as zap.stream or tunestr.io, you can listen there and zaps will be paid to the artist currently playing.

#### Artist Takeovers

Artists can now take control of the music and host a listening party or an AMA. During a takeover, only the host can add tracks to the queue and upvotes are disabled.

Fountain Radio takeovers help artists reach new listeners and find new fans, followers and supporters. If you have just posted new music to Fountain after uploading to Wavlake or RSS Blue, takeovers are a great way to drive engagement - particularly if it’s the first time you’ve shared music in this way. We will also promote upcoming takeovers to help introduce your music to new audiences.

The first artist takeover will be the UK’s very own Joe Martin on Wednesday 27th November at 12:00pm EST. If you are interested to take over Fountain Radio and get your music heard by new listeners, get in touch.

Other bug fixes and improvements

• Fixed grey screen when viewing queue

• Fixed clips not being posted to Nostr

• Fixed custom deposit amount

• Fixed crash after sharing or creating a clip

• Fixed error on The Joe Rogan Experience

• Fixed issue when @ symbol appears in a link sent in a comment

• Fixed issue where latest episodes in library were not updating for some users

• Fixed issue where episode could not be replayed if already listened to

• Added error handling when Nostr keypair is already connected to another account

• Added warning when using Fountain as a guest

• Added prompt to share to Nostr after creating a clip

• Added OPML file explorer

@ 4870d550:110d6208

Opinion from Scott Wolfe. Scott is Coordinator of the Federation of Bitcoin Circular Economies, and Executive Director of the Bitcoin Coalition of Canada. He has spent the past twenty years in the not-for-profit sector with a focus on community health and development.

I am writing this from the comfort of my home in Toronto, Canada, with a world of thoughts swirling through my head. It is Day 2 of the 2024 African Bitcoin Conference, in Nairobi, Kenya. I am sad to not be there. I am also incredibly moved by the powerful messages emanating from the event as I watch the livestream.

This article will reflect on some of those messages and outline some commitments and donations that I am making today. I am also using this as an appeal to others – especially people outside the African continent – to join in donating to important projects throughout the continent. Before getting to that though, I want to situate this all against a backdrop, one that I hope can set a tone for action and healing.

The title of this article is a deliberate nod to one of the first essays I ever read by the late Nigerian scholar and writer, Chinua Achebe, a critique of author Joseph Conrad’s novel, Heart of Darkness. It is an essay which I read in my teens, given to me by an extra-curricular mentor, after I expressed my unease at the content of Conrad’s novel, something I was forced to read as part of my high school English literature curriculum.

In his essay, "An Image of Africa: Racism in Conrad's 'Heart of Darkness'", Achebe writes: “Heart of Darkness projects the image of Africa as "the other world," the antithesis of Europe and therefore of civilization, a place where man's vaunted intelligence and refinement are finally mocked by triumphant beastiality.”

A cottage industry of apologists has dismissed critiques such as Achebe’s, claiming that Conrad’s novel is simply a product of its time, perhaps even visionary for trying to place the challenges of cultural, racial, and ethnic difference in relief. These apologetics form part of a larger geopolitical and cultural motif regarding the African continent, one that persists to this day: to excuse away the status quo and to wash our hands of responsibility. The African continent is represented by an almost blinding array of peoples, cultures, languages, religions, political systems, and civilizational contributions. Yet, far too often Africa is unceremoniously reduced to a voiceless, homogeneous mass. Sometimes this is done unconsciously and other times deliberately, to satisfy convenient narratives about Africa which exist outside of the continent. We must interrogate these narratives and utterly shatter them.

Many years ago, given the choice to accept convenient apologetics or the uncomfortable critiques presented by Achebe – critiques which simultaneously called on me to question my own role and place as a Canadian kid from the suburbs of Ottawa, Canada – I chose the latter. Since then, I have tried to always maintain fidelity to the significance of that choice, something that has permeated my life journey in so many ways. Returning to what prompted me to action today, though, as I listened to this morning’s keynote speakers from the African Bitcoin Conference – Femi Longe, Marcel Lorraine, and Abubakar Nur Khalil -- a greater spirit within me rose and spoke. It is the spirit which is responsible for maintaining fidelity to the choice which I made long ago, and it is also the spirit which calls on me to honour all that has been given to me, gifted to me by brothers and sisters (family) from the African continent and the African diaspora in the Caribbean and North America throughout my lifetime. It called on me to do more, to get up, and to act.

I am still processing what my actions and commitments must look like more fully. For the moment, I am getting started by making personal donations to several important Bitcoin-focused initiatives throughout the African continent. While these donations will only make a small dent in the overall needs of these projects and the bigger collective project epitomized by the African Bitcoin Conference, I hope that my words and my actions here will resonate and inspire others to act and donate. Together, we can collectively build on the momentum being gained in Nairobi this week and accelerate outcomes.

Today, I am donating a total of 1,500,000 sats as follows:

500,000 sats to Bitcoin DADA, a non-profit organization providing education and support to women throughout the continent https://checkout.bitnob.co/d/1df56fcc-fed2-49ae-b44c-e01874c2dd84

250,000 sats to The Core, a Kenya-based project increasing Bitcoin education throughout the continent, especially via the Mi Primer Bitcoin curriculum https://geyser.fund/project/thecore21m

250,000 sats, in trust, toward the establishment of an African Bitcoin Institute, as called for by Femi Longe

250,000 sats in total to Bitcoin circular economy projects, including:

Afribit Kibera (Kenya) https://geyser.fund/project/merchantmeetupsforkibra

Bitcoin Anambra (Nigeria) https://geyser.fund/project/bitcoinanambra

Bitcoin Babies (Kenya) https://bitcoinbabies.com/

Calabar Bitcoin Club (Nigeria) https://geyser.fund/project/calabarbitcoinclub

Bitcoin Chama (Kenya) https://geyser.fund/project/bitcoinchama?mtm_campaign=project-share&mtm_keyword=bitcoinchama&mtm_sou

Bitcoin Dua (Ghana) https://geyser.fund/project/bitcoineducationcenter

Bitcoin Ekasi (South Africa) https://support.bitcoinekasi.com

Bitcoin Kampala (Uganda) https://btcpay0.voltageapp.io/apps/2HHdoHM52tr4wbx2KUaeguNKTDfm/crowdfund

Bitcoin Loxion (South Africa) – Lightning address: bitcoinloxion@blink.sv

Bitcoin Nairobi (Kenya) https://geyser.fund/project/btcnairobi?hero=geyser

Bitcoin Victoria Falls (Zambia) https://geyser.fund/project/bitcoinvictoriafalls

125,000 sats to the Kenya Fire Brigades Association https://pay.zaprite.com/pl_SSXGpaHAe3, via Proof of Workforce, to support the use of BTC as a treasury reserve asset by institutions and organizations on the continent

125,000 sats for purchase of copies of The Bitcoin Leap: How Bitcoin Is Transforming Africa https://www.amazon.com/Bitcoin-Leap-How-Transforming-Africa/dp/B0DJX4HHF5, with distribution to key decision makers who can help catalyze further investment and action on the African continent. I entrust these decision to the author, Charlene Hill Fadirepo, in consultation with colleagues from the continent.

I encourage others to join in making donations to these or other Bitcoin-focused projects throughout the African continent and to do so not as charity, but as part of a deeper personal commitment to interrogating and interrupting narratives about Africa which we far too often perpetuate outside of the continent.

As Femi Longe said in his keynote address today, “Bitcoin is a tool that we can use to restore Africa’s dignity. We must wield that tool with agency.”

In making public my commitment to action, I also want to note that I am deliberately publishing this via The Progressive Bitcoiner. For a multitude of reasons, ones that I will cover in a future article, I believe strongly that this not-for-profit organization and its publications provide critical platforms to pursue bridge-building, justice, and healing. I invite you to learn more about The Progressive Bitcoiner and to make it a part of your base of resources.

@ deba271e:36005655

Overall this was such a great experience, but as always there are couple things that could be better. Don't hate me. Complaining about experience is in my job description.

• Internet at feria: There are connection issues hampering the experience for both sellers and buyers.
  • Having a wifi for the sellers would greatly improve the situation - but I also understand that none of this can be imposed by outsiders - I'm happy to help [REDACTED].
  • Another option is to create geyser.fund campaign specifically for this - "Get internet for bitcoin merchants at Uvita farmers market". I'm using the words in this title carefully to be catchy in the right way.
  • Then one of the best ways is just get the wifi access QR code (often can be generated in the access point interface), print it and give that to the sellers. No need to hassle with the password, etc.
• Teaching bitcoin to buyers at feria: At the feria there were many people buying the produce that have no idea what is bitcoin. Since the ferias are the flagship experience of Bitcoin Jungle, this would be a great opportunity to teach the buyers about bitcoin.
  • I think it would be great to have some (sensible) billboard/banner that explains how to use bitcoin, how to download the app, get colones on it and then pay at the feria.
  • This could actually be incentivized by some campaign like "Get 5000 CRC to use at feria if you install lightning wallet for the first time" (again this could be funded by geyser campaign if you don't have funds for this). The sellers can just point to the banner if someone asks them.
  • Maybe there is a chance to have a small bitcoin booth at the corner of the feria that could give away some basic printed info about bitcoin and how to use it. It could sell books (Gladstein, Lyn Alden, the El Salvador classbook, etc), some tote bags (useful for the market) or similar useful bitcoin branded merch.
• Help all sellers accept bitcoin: There were 2 sellers that didn't accept bitcoin and that's ok, but it would be great to mitigate the gap in experience for the buyers. One option is for the ask the seller next to them to accept the bitcoin for them and give them colones (I have seen this happen in one case - it worked great). And so this just needs a small bit of education.
• Allow pre-configuring items in the POS: The selers that have fixed price items (i.e. not weighted) were still adding the numbers on calculator or similar, it was a bit tricky for them, prone to mistake.
  • (I haven't actually seen the Bitcoin Jungle wallet POS, so maybe this is already solved - if yes, then ignore)
  • Consider providing features to pre-configure the items in the POS, so the seller can just tap on items and it adds those up. One benefit of this for the selers is that this can give them precise tracking for how many pineapples they sold, etc.
  • This is something that actually works quite nicely in the Breez wallet. See the screenshot bottom right: https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fcafc3cd0-adb3-47be-bdcd-9d3ba57fe967_1614x906.png
• Keep btcmap.org up to date: Currently I don't think https://btcmap.org/map#15/9.16567/-83.73844 lists the feria and maybe other places. This is something that many bitcoiners coming to the are will use and so keeping the btcmap.org up to date would go a long way. It's fairly simple to add new items to the map and there are many communities in each country that keep those up to date (e.g. I know people that are calling the restaurants and verifying that they still accept bitcoin).
• Try including some ready to eat food seller at the feria: Currently the selection of produce was nice, but one thing that was a bit missing is the one stand that sells ready to eat local food.
  • This could be some sandwiches, quesadillas, etc…
• Have a board for people offering services: This is just an idea - not sure how well would it work and also this may already be handled somewhere else in Uvita?
  • One thing that could be useful and I was actually looking for is to have some form of a big board where people can offer their services - cooking, cleaning pools, taking care of kids, fixing roofs, teaching surfing, etc. It could be a board where people can pin their notes with WhatsApp numbers like this. Do you want some work done at your house or garden? You would just come to check this board.

@ c5fede3d:16e03f7b

Se acaba 2024 y el año nuevo asoma, es hora de hacer valoraciones y rendir cuentas. ¿Has cumplido los própositos que te marcaste al iniciar el año? ¿Éxito rotundo o fracaso estrepitoso? En el mundo de las criptomonedas, desde luego, que no hay término medio. Ya lo dicen muchos, o Lambo o Puente. ¿Y tú, en qué lado estás?

En esta serie de artículos semanales iré actualizando mi visión sobre el mundo crypto. Concretamente aportaré unas cuantas pinceladas sobre, lo que considero, el portafolio ideal. Las criptomonedas, con sus más y sus menos, han supuesto una revolución en el mundo de las finanzas. Aunque en sus inicios eran vistas como un arma revolucionaria, ahora, con la entrada del gran capital, se ha tratado de institucionalizarlas y ponerlas al servicio del poder global. Que no os engañen, el principal logro ha sido la descentralización de las finanzas, la socialización de la economía particular, la entrega de las llaves de la caja fuerte a su titular, y la consiguiente pérdida de fuerza de los custodios, usureros y demás calaña.

EL PRIMER PASO🚶

Teniendo las ideas claras, es hora de ir estructurando la cartera. Esta es la parte más importante, porque aquí no se empieza la casa por el tejado, en este artículo estamos en la fase de adquisición del terreno, aún falta por llamar a Manolo y Benito para que empiecen con la faena.

Lo primero que tienes que hacer es mirarte al espejo y definirte qué tipo de inversor quieres ser. ¿Vas a hacer muchas transacciones buscando el pelotazo del año entrando de lleno en el mundillo? ¿O prefieres comprar alguna moneda sin interactuar con nada y nadie y a esperar a que suba? Tengo un artículo que habla de ello. Una vez sepas quién eres, debes elegir tu billetera electrónica de confianza, la que siempre te acompañará. Aquí tienes dos opciones, las billeteras calientes y las frías. ¿Diferencias? Aquí te dejo una tabla comparativa generada por Perplexity AI.

En resumidas cuentas, la billetera fría es para guardar activos y no tocarlos, como si fuera una reserva de oro, sin interactuar con nada ni con nadie. Además, es un dispositivo, un hardware físico donde tú serás el custodio. Ese es su propósito principal y único. Mi recomendación es la billetera de Keystone o la de BitBox. Por otra parte está la billetera caliente, mi preferida, pues con ella tienes la libertad para hacer lo que te venga en gana, es el ticket de entrada al mundo crypto, y además completamente gratuito. Aquí va una recomendación más personalizada, y es que da más seguridad operar con billeteras calientes vinculadas a una red concreta. Ya lo irás viendo, de entrada, lo ideal es tener Rabby wallet como extensión de navegador web y Safepal como app móvil.

GUARDA TU CLAVE PRIVADA 🔐

El momento más importante. Esta es la gran diferencia entre las finanzas tradicionales y la nueva economía. No me detendré en aspectos técnicos relacionados con la tokenización de las finanzas, los contratos inteligentes y demás parafernalia del estilo, lo principal es que entiendas que eres el custodio de tu cuenta billetera, que el banco ha quedado obsoleto y no tienes que delegar ante nadie. Por tanto, eres quien debe garantizar la seguridad de tus activos. ¿Cómo hacerlo? Tienes varios métodos.

Al crear la billetera te habrá pedido que introduzcas una contraseña, que te valdrá para acceder a la extensión, o tu huella biométrica para entrar en la app móvil. Pues esa contraseña es el primer candado de la puerta, queda el más importante, la frase semilla, o como me gusta llamarla, la llave maestra. Atiende a esta definición:

Una frase semilla, también conocida como frase de recuperación o frase mnemotécnica, es un conjunto de palabras que se utiliza como clave para acceder y recuperar una billetera de criptomonedas. Generalmente, consta de entre 12 a 24 palabras generadas aleatoriamente durante la configuración de la billetera.

Es absolutamente indispensable que guardes a buen recaudo tu frase semilla y no la compartas a nadie. Apúntala en un papel o ingéniatelas para guardarla, siempre offline. Se usa principalmente para recuperar la billetera o migrarla a otro dispositivo. No se utiliza para loguearte en sitios, ni tampoco para compartir tu dirección.

UN VISTAZO A LA WALLET 💳

Teniendo claro esto, adjunto un esquema sobre los aspectos básicos de una billetera, en esto caso SUI Wallet. Elaborado por el usuario de X, Fosky68.

Quédate con estos puntos fundamentales:

1. La dirección que suele empezar por 0x y una barbaridad de números es tu clave pública. Con ella recibirás fondos y la compartirás a webs y demás usuarios. También puedes adquirir una identidad que enmascara esa dirección, por ejemplo (perico.eth) a través del servicio ENS.
2. El portafolio es donde tienes las monedas que has ido adquiriendo. ¿Quieres intercambiar una moneda por otra? Eso se llama swap. Ya lo irás viendo.
3. Las redes soportadas, son lo que se conocen como Blockchain, las monedas pueden alojarse en múltiples redes, cada una con sus reglas y sus comisiones de uso, puedes encontrarte $ETH en redes como Optimism, Base o la propia red de ETH. Por eso es fundamental comprobar qué red vas a utilizar, o en que red está alojada la moneda si vas a realizar una operación. ¿Puedes cambiar la moneda entre redes distintas? Sí, se llama hacer un bridge. Pronto, sabrás más de ello.
4. Podrás encontrarte otras funciones adicionales, como un historial de transacciones donde habrá un registro de todas las operaciones que has realizado, o el apartado DeFi (Finanzas Descentralizadas) donde te ofrecerán todas las herramientas para operar y verás el estado de tus inversiones.

Teniendo estas nociones básicas, he de felicitarte. Enhorabuena, ya has construido los cimientos de la casa. En el próximo artículo de Semanario Crypto, aprenderás a sortear obstáculos para fondear tu billetera, a cruzar la línea que separa al mundo real del virtual, a ser parte del nuevo orden. Bienvenido al mundo crypto.

---

Descargo de responsabilidad: Toda la información compartida forma parte de mi visión personal y no tiene como objetivo asesorar financieramente. Doy información, no consejos de inversión.

@ 26838110:80edc65d

Using Nostr as a Blog through Npub.pro

Now that X.com is closed and cannot be freely accessed without account anymore, creators and companies need a new way to broadcast updates and gather feedback from users.

Our Needs

We had first two major requirements. The first one was to have a way to publish updates and have the possibility for anyone to reply to them.

The second major requirement was to have these posts available online and indexable by search engines.

Nostr

After trying Warpcast and looking into Threads, Mastodon and Bluesky, we chose Nostr to chronicle the development of the world and game of Dragonbane Creation.

Nostr is perfect for our needs for serveral reasons:

1. Posts are publicly accessible and available in a variety of clients.

2. Posts are not linked to a single platform and they cannot be boosted or deboosted.

3. Posts can be easily read and written programmatically.

4. Once Nostr is more widespread, it also means that posts can be indexed by search engines and can count as multiple SEO links (one for each indexed client).

Npub.pro

Having notes is only one part of the equation to have a blog based on Nostr. The second part I discovered relatively quickly after I started posting on Nostr. Npub.pro is a way to create a free website to display notes and have them available as standalone pages with a comment section in a customizable theme.

What I love about Npub.pro are how easy it is to customize the blog and the ability to self-host.

After setting up our blog, I also tried recreating a basic version on the main Dragonbane Creation website as I already had the code to interact with Nostr in Javascript. However, I decided to keep using Npub.pro in order to avoid having to maintain the code for a blog and as it fulfills all of our needs and to self host it.

The downsides of using Npub.pro are that it is extremely slow to load, even when self-hosting and using a good CDN. It also lacks important customization options such as a way to disable comments and zapping.

If you want to set up your own, you can do it here:

https://npub.pro/#themes-onboarding

If you want to see how our blog looks like:

https://blog.dragonbanecreation.com

grownostr #npubpro

@ e356a30c:11e846f7

Bitcoin's performance during the Christmas season has been a mixed bag, with both Santa Claus rallies and Grinch-like plunges. While the cryptocurrency's volatility can be attributed to various factors, including global economic conditions and regulatory developments, historical data reveals some interesting trends.

During bullish market cycles, Bitcoin has often experienced a "Santa Claus rally" in the weeks leading up to and following Christmas. This phenomenon is characterized by increased buying activity and a surge in prices, potentially driven by holiday bonuses and a general sense of optimism. For instance, in 2020, Bitcoin surged by a remarkable 25.63% during the 52nd week, coinciding with the Christmas period.

However, bear markets have historically brought notable price declines for Bitcoin during the festive season. Reduced trading volume and increased volatility due to holiday-related market closures can exacerbate price swings. In 2022, for example, Bitcoin experienced a significant decline during the Christmas period, mirroring the broader crypto market downturn.

Looking ahead, analysts are cautiously optimistic about Bitcoin's prospects during the upcoming Christmas season. While the cryptocurrency's price remains susceptible to market fluctuations, a combination of positive regulatory developments and a potential economic recovery could fuel a Santa Claus rally. However, the ongoing bear market and geopolitical uncertainties pose significant challenges.

Ultimately, Bitcoin's performance during the Christmas season is contingent on a confluence of factors. While historical trends offer valuable insights, it is crucial to exercise caution and conduct thorough research before making any investment decisions.

bitcoin #Naija