@ 609f186c:0aa4e8af

Google says that Android 16 is slated to feature an optional high security mode. Cool.

Advanced Protection has a bunch of requested features that address the kinds of threats we worry about.

It's the kind of 'turn this one thing on if you face elevated risk' that we've been asking for from Google.

And likely reflects some learning after Google watched Apple 's Lockdown Mode play out. I see a lot of value in this..

Here are some features I'm excited to see play out:

The Intrusion Logging feature is interesting & is going to impose substantial cost on attackers trying to hide evidence of exploitation. Logs get e2ee encrypted into the cloud. This one is spicy.

The Offline Lock, Inactivity Reboot & USB protection will frustrate non-consensual attempts to physically grab device data.

Memory Tagging Extension is going to make a lot of attack & exploitation categories harder.

2G Network Protection & disabling Auto-connect to insecure networks are going to address categories of threat from things like IMSI catchers & hostile WiFi.

I'm curious about some other features such as:

Spam & Scam detection: Google messages feature that suggests message content awareness and some kind of scanning.

Scam detection for Phone by Google is interesting & coming later. The way it is described suggests phone conversation awareness. This also addresses a different category of threat than the stuff above. I can see it addressing a whole category of bad things that regular users (& high risk ones too!) face. Will be curious how privacy is addressed or if this done purely locally. Getting messy: Friction points? I see Google thinking these through, but I'm going to add a potential concern: what will users do when they encounter friction? Will they turn this off & forget to re-enable? We've seen users turn off iOS Lockdown Mode when they run into friction for specific websites or, say, legacy WiFi. They then forget to turn it back on. And stay vulnerable.

Bottom line: users disabling Apple's Lockdown Mode for a temporary thing & leaving it off because they forget to turn it on happens a lot. This is a serious % of users in my experience...

And should be factored into design decisions for similar modes. I feel like a good balance is a 'snooze button' or equivalent so that users can disable all/some features for a brief few minute period to do something they need to do, and then auto re-enable.

Winding up:

I'm excited to see how Android Advanced Protection plays with high risk users' experiences. I'm also super curious whether the spam/scam detection features may also be helpful to more vulnerable users (think: aging seniors)...

Niche but important:

Some users, esp. those that migrated to security & privacy-focused Android distros because of because of the absence of such a feature are clear candidates for it... But they may also voice privacy concerns around some of the screening features. Clear communication from the Google Security / Android team will be key here.

@ 266815e0:6cd408a5

Streams are the key to nostr

Loading events from a nostr relay is probably the most inconsistent way of loading data I've had to work with, and that's only loading from a single relay. the problem gets exponentially more complicated once you try to load events from multiple relays

Unlike HTTP nostr does not have a simple flow with timeouts built in. events are sent back one at a time and can fail at any point or have massive (10s) gaps between them

The key is to use streams. something that starts, emits any number of results, then maybe errors or completes. luckily it just so happens that JavaScript / TypeScript has a great observable stream library called RxJS

What is an observable

An Observable in RxJS is stream a of data that are initialized lazily, which means the stream is inactive and not running until something subscribes to it

```ts let stream = new Observable((observer) => { observer.next(1) observer.next(2) observer.next(3) observer.complete() })

// The stream method isn't run until its subscribed to stream.subscribe(v => console.log(v)) ```

This is super powerful and perfect for nostr because it means we don't need to manage the life-cycle of the stream. it will run when something subscribes to it and stop when unsubscribed.

Its helpful to think of this as "pulling" data. once we have created an observable we can request the data from it at any point in the future.

Pulling data from relays

We can use the lazy nature of observables to only start fetching events from a nostr relay when we need them

For example we can create an observable that will load kind 1 events from the damus relay and stream them back as they are returned from the relay

```typescript let req = new Observable((observer) => { // Create a new websocket connection when the observable is start let ws = new WebSocket('wss://relay.damus.io')

ws.onopen = () => { // Start a REQ ws.send(JSON.stringify(['REQ', 'test', {kinds: [1], limit: 20}])) }

ws.onmessage = (event) => { let message = JSON.parse(event.data) // Get the event from the message and pass it along to the subscribers if(message[0] === 'EVENT') observer.next(message[1]) }

// Cleanup subscription return () => { ws.send(JSON.stringify(['CLOSE', 'test'])) ws.close() } }) ```

But creating the observable wont do anything. we need to subscribe to it to get any events.

ts let sub = req.subscribe(event => { console.log('we got an event' event) })

Cool now we are pulling events from a relay. once we are done we can stop listening to it by unsubscribing from it

ts sub.unsubscribe()

This will call the cleanup method on the observable, which in turn closes the connection to the relay.

Hopefully you can see how this work, we don't have any open, connect, or disconnect methods. we simply subscribe to a stream of events and it handles all the messy logic of connecting to a relay

Composing and chaining observables

I've shown you how we can create a simple stream of events from a relay, but what if we want to pull from two relays?

Easy, lets make the previous example into a function that takes a relay URL

```ts function getNoteFromRelay(relay: string){ return new Observable((observer) => { let ws = new WebSocket(relay)

// ...rest of the observable...

}) } ```

Then we can "merge" two of these observables into a single observable using the merge method from RxJS

The merge method will create a single observable that subscribes to both upstream observables and sends all the events back. Think of it as pulling events from both relays at once

```ts import { merge } from 'rxjs'

const notes = merge( getNoteFromRelay('wss://relay.damus.io'), getNoteFromRelay('wss://nos.lol') )

// Subscribe to the observable to start getting data from it const sub = notes.subscribe(event => { console.log(event) })

// later unsubscribe setTimeout(() => { sub.unsubscribe() }, 10_000) ```

But now we have a problem, because we are pulling events from two relays we are getting duplicate events. to solve this we can use the .pipe method and the distinct operator from RxJS to modify our single observable to only return one version of each event

The .pipe method will create a chain of observables that will each subscribe to the previous one and modify the returned values in some way

The distinct operator takes a method that returns a unique identifier and filters out any duplicate values

```ts import { merge, distinct } from 'rxjs'

const notes = merge( getNoteFromRelay('wss://relay.damus.io'), getNoteFromRelay('wss://nos.lol') ).pipe( // filter out events we have seen before based on the event id distinct(event => event.id) ) ```

Now we have an observable that when subscribed to will connect to two relays and return a stream of events without duplicates...

As you can see things can start getting complicated fast. but its also very powerful because we aren't managing any life-cycle code, we just subscribe and unsubscribe from an observable

Taking it to an extreme

Hopefully at this point you can see how powerful this is, we can think of almost any data loading pattern as a series of observables that pull data from upstream observables and stream it back to the original subscriber.

Here is a quick sketch of what it could look like to load user profiles. each node is an observable that "pulls" data from its child node ending with the "connect websocket" or "load from database" nodes which do the work of making a relay connection

Conclusion

All this might seem pretty simple and straight forward, but its been a long six month of learning for me. I've had to completely rethink how data and nostr events should be handled in a client and how to avoid screwing up and shooting myself in the foot with these powerful tools.

If you want to give RxJS a try I would encourage you to checkout the nostr sdk I've been building called applesauce

Its uses RxJS for pretty much everything and has the simplest and most flexible relay connection API I've seen so far (mainly no life-cycle management)

@ b83a28b7:35919450

This article was originally part of the sermon of Plebchain Radio Episode 111 (May 2, 2025) that nostr:nprofile1qyxhwumn8ghj7mn0wvhxcmmvqyg8wumn8ghj7mn0wd68ytnvv9hxgqpqtvqc82mv8cezhax5r34n4muc2c4pgjz8kaye2smj032nngg52clq7fgefr and I did with nostr:nprofile1qythwumn8ghj7ct5d3shxtnwdaehgu3wd3skuep0qyt8wumn8ghj7ct4w35zumn0wd68yvfwvdhk6tcqyzx4h2fv3n9r6hrnjtcrjw43t0g0cmmrgvjmg525rc8hexkxc0kd2rhtk62 and nostr:nprofile1qyxhwumn8ghj7mn0wvhxcmmvqyg8wumn8ghj7mn0wd68ytnvv9hxgqpq4wxtsrj7g2jugh70pfkzjln43vgn4p7655pgky9j9w9d75u465pqahkzd0 of the nostr:nprofile1qythwumn8ghj7ct5d3shxtnwdaehgu3wd3skuep0qyt8wumn8ghj7etyv4hzumn0wd68ytnvv9hxgtcqyqwfvwrccp4j2xsuuvkwg0y6a20637t6f4cc5zzjkx030dkztt7t5hydajn

Listen to the full episode here:

<<https://fountain.fm/episode/Ln9Ej0zCZ5dEwfo8w2Ho>>

---

Bitcoin has always been a narrative revolution disguised as code. White paper, cypherpunk lore, pizza‑day legends - every block is a paragraph in the world’s most relentless epic. But code alone rarely converts the skeptic; it’s the camp‑fire myth that slips past the prefrontal cortex and shakes hands with the limbic system. People don’t adopt protocols first - they fall in love with protagonists.

Early adopters heard the white‑paper hymn, but most folks need characters first: a pizza‑day dreamer; a mother in a small country, crushed by the cost of remittance; a Warsaw street vendor swapping złoty for sats. When their arcs land, the brain releases a neurochemical OP_RETURN which says, “I belong in this plot.” That’s the sly roundabout orange pill: conviction smuggled inside catharsis.

That’s why, from 22–25 May in Warsaw’s Kinoteka, the Bitcoin Film Fest is loading its reels with rebellion. Each documentary, drama, and animated rabbit‑hole is a stealth wallet, zipping conviction straight into the feels of anyone still clasped within the cold claw of fiat. You come for the plot, you leave checking block heights.

---

Here's the clip of the sermon from the episode:

nostr:nevent1qvzqqqqqqypzpwp69zm7fewjp0vkp306adnzt7249ytxhz7mq3w5yc629u6er9zsqqsy43fwz8es2wnn65rh0udc05tumdnx5xagvzd88ptncspmesdqhygcrvpf2

@ 04c915da:3dfbecc9

Bitcoin has always been rooted in freedom and resistance to authority. I get that many of you are conflicted about the US Government stacking but by design we cannot stop anyone from using bitcoin. Many have asked me for my thoughts on the matter, so let’s rip it.

Concern

One of the most glaring issues with the strategic bitcoin reserve is its foundation, built on stolen bitcoin. For those of us who value private property this is an obvious betrayal of our core principles. Rather than proof of work, the bitcoin that seeds this reserve has been taken by force. The US Government should return the bitcoin stolen from Bitfinex and the Silk Road.

Using stolen bitcoin for the reserve creates a perverse incentive. If governments see bitcoin as a valuable asset, they will ramp up efforts to confiscate more bitcoin. The precedent is a major concern, and I stand strongly against it, but it should be also noted that governments were already seizing coin before the reserve so this is not really a change in policy.

Ideally all seized bitcoin should be burned, by law. This would align incentives properly and make it less likely for the government to actively increase coin seizures. Due to the truly scarce properties of bitcoin, all burned bitcoin helps existing holders through increased purchasing power regardless. This change would be unlikely but those of us in policy circles should push for it regardless. It would be best case scenario for American bitcoiners and would create a strong foundation for the next century of American leadership.

Optimism

The entire point of bitcoin is that we can spend or save it without permission. That said, it is a massive benefit to not have one of the strongest governments in human history actively trying to ruin our lives.

Since the beginning, bitcoiners have faced horrible regulatory trends. KYC, surveillance, and legal cases have made using bitcoin and building bitcoin businesses incredibly difficult. It is incredibly important to note that over the past year that trend has reversed for the first time in a decade. A strategic bitcoin reserve is a key driver of this shift. By holding bitcoin, the strongest government in the world has signaled that it is not just a fringe technology but rather truly valuable, legitimate, and worth stacking.

This alignment of incentives changes everything. The US Government stacking proves bitcoin’s worth. The resulting purchasing power appreciation helps all of us who are holding coin and as bitcoin succeeds our government receives direct benefit. A beautiful positive feedback loop.

Realism

We are trending in the right direction. A strategic bitcoin reserve is a sign that the state sees bitcoin as an asset worth embracing rather than destroying. That said, there is a lot of work left to be done. We cannot be lulled into complacency, the time to push forward is now, and we cannot take our foot off the gas. We have a seat at the table for the first time ever. Let's make it worth it.

We must protect the right to free usage of bitcoin and other digital technologies. Freedom in the digital age must be taken and defended, through both technical and political avenues. Multiple privacy focused developers are facing long jail sentences for building tools that protect our freedom. These cases are not just legal battles. They are attacks on the soul of bitcoin. We need to rally behind them, fight for their freedom, and ensure the ethos of bitcoin survives this new era of government interest. The strategic reserve is a step in the right direction, but it is up to us to hold the line and shape the future.

@ c9badfea:610f861a

1. Install Obtainium (it's free and open source)
2. Launch the app and allow notifications
3. Open your browser, navigate to the GitHub page of the app you want to install, and copy the URL (e.g. https://github.com/revanced/revanced-manager for ReVanced)
4. Launch Obtainium, navigate to Add App, paste the URL into App Source URL, and tap Add
5. Wait for the loading process to finish
6. You can now tap Install to install the application
7. Enable Allow From This Source and return to Obtainium
8. Proceed with the installation by tapping Install

ℹ️ Besides GitHub, Obtainium can install from additional sources

ℹ️ You can also explore Complex Obtainium Apps for more options

@ c631e267:c2b78d3e

Die zwei mächtigsten Krieger sind Geduld und Zeit. \ Leo Tolstoi

Zum Wohle unserer Gesundheit, unserer Leistungsfähigkeit und letztlich unseres Glücks ist es wichtig, die eigene Energie bewusst zu pflegen. Das gilt umso mehr für an gesellschaftlichen Themen interessierte, selbstbewusste und kritisch denkende Menschen. Denn für deren Wahrnehmung und Wohlbefinden waren und sind die rasanten, krisen- und propagandagefüllten letzten Jahre in Absurdistan eine harte Probe.

Nur wer regelmäßig Kraft tankt und Wege findet, mit den Herausforderungen umzugehen, kann eine solche Tortur überstehen, emotionale Erschöpfung vermeiden und trotz allem zufrieden sein. Dazu müssen wir erkunden, was uns Energie gibt und was sie uns raubt. Durch Selbstreflexion und Achtsamkeit finden wir sicher Dinge, die uns erfreuen und inspirieren, und andere, die uns eher stressen und belasten.

Die eigene Energie ist eng mit unserer körperlichen und mentalen Gesundheit verbunden. Methoden zur Förderung der körperlichen Gesundheit sind gut bekannt: eine ausgewogene Ernährung, regelmäßige Bewegung sowie ausreichend Schlaf und Erholung. Bei der nicht minder wichtigen emotionalen Balance wird es schon etwas komplizierter. Stress abzubauen, die eigenen Grenzen zu kennen oder solche zum Schutz zu setzen sowie die Konzentration auf Positives und Sinnvolles wären Ansätze.

Der emotionale ist auch der Bereich, über den «Energie-Räuber» bevorzugt attackieren. Das sind zum Beispiel Dinge wie Überforderung, Perfektionismus oder mangelhafte Kommunikation. Social Media gehören ganz sicher auch dazu. Sie stehlen uns nicht nur Zeit, sondern sind höchst manipulativ und erhöhen laut einer aktuellen Studie das Risiko für psychische Probleme wie Angstzustände und Depressionen.

Geben wir negativen oder gar bösen Menschen keine Macht über uns. Das Dauerfeuer der letzten Jahre mit Krisen, Konflikten und Gefahren sollte man zwar kennen, darf sich aber davon nicht runterziehen lassen. Das Ziel derartiger konzertierter Aktionen ist vor allem, unsere innere Stabilität zu zerstören, denn dann sind wir leichter zu steuern. Aber Geduld: Selbst vermeintliche «Sonnenköniginnen» wie EU-Kommissionspräsidentin von der Leyen fallen, wenn die Zeit reif ist.

Es ist wichtig, dass wir unsere ganz eigenen Bedürfnisse und Werte erkennen. Unsere Energiequellen müssen wir identifizieren und aktiv nutzen. Dazu gehören soziale Kontakte genauso wie zum Beispiel Hobbys und Leidenschaften. Umgeben wir uns mit Sinnhaftigkeit und lassen wir uns nicht die Energie rauben!

Mein Wahlspruch ist schon lange: «Was die Menschen wirklich bewegt, ist die Kultur.» Jetzt im Frühjahr beginnt hier in Andalusien die Zeit der «Ferias», jener traditionellen Volksfeste, die vor Lebensfreude sprudeln. Konzentrieren wir uns auf die schönen Dinge und auf unsere eigenen Talente – soziale Verbundenheit wird helfen, unsere innere Kraft zu stärken und zu bewahren.

[Titelbild: Pixabay]

---

Dieser Beitrag wurde mit dem Pareto-Client geschrieben und ist zuerst auf Transition News erschienen.

@ 3a9a4c49:f774dd7a

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@ 04c915da:3dfbecc9

Recently we have seen a wave of high profile X accounts hacked. These attacks have exposed the fragility of the status quo security model used by modern social media platforms like X. Many users have asked if nostr fixes this, so lets dive in. How do these types of attacks translate into the world of nostr apps? For clarity, I will use X’s security model as representative of most big tech social platforms and compare it to nostr.

The Status Quo

On X, you never have full control of your account. Ultimately to use it requires permission from the company. They can suspend your account or limit your distribution. Theoretically they can even post from your account at will. An X account is tied to an email and password. Users can also opt into two factor authentication, which adds an extra layer of protection, a login code generated by an app. In theory, this setup works well, but it places a heavy burden on users. You need to create a strong, unique password and safeguard it. You also need to ensure your email account and phone number remain secure, as attackers can exploit these to reset your credentials and take over your account. Even if you do everything responsibly, there is another weak link in X infrastructure itself. The platform’s infrastructure allows accounts to be reset through its backend. This could happen maliciously by an employee or through an external attacker who compromises X’s backend. When an account is compromised, the legitimate user often gets locked out, unable to post or regain control without contacting X’s support team. That process can be slow, frustrating, and sometimes fruitless if support denies the request or cannot verify your identity. Often times support will require users to provide identification info in order to regain access, which represents a privacy risk. The centralized nature of X means you are ultimately at the mercy of the company’s systems and staff.

Nostr Requires Responsibility

Nostr flips this model radically. Users do not need permission from a company to access their account, they can generate as many accounts as they want, and cannot be easily censored. The key tradeoff here is that users have to take complete responsibility for their security. Instead of relying on a username, password, and corporate servers, nostr uses a private key as the sole credential for your account. Users generate this key and it is their responsibility to keep it safe. As long as you have your key, you can post. If someone else gets it, they can post too. It is that simple. This design has strong implications. Unlike X, there is no backend reset option. If your key is compromised or lost, there is no customer support to call. In a compromise scenario, both you and the attacker can post from the account simultaneously. Neither can lock the other out, since nostr relays simply accept whatever is signed with a valid key.

The benefit? No reliance on proprietary corporate infrastructure.. The negative? Security rests entirely on how well you protect your key.

Future Nostr Security Improvements

For many users, nostr’s standard security model, storing a private key on a phone with an encrypted cloud backup, will likely be sufficient. It is simple and reasonably secure. That said, nostr’s strength lies in its flexibility as an open protocol. Users will be able to choose between a range of security models, balancing convenience and protection based on need.

One promising option is a web of trust model for key rotation. Imagine pre-selecting a group of trusted friends. If your account is compromised, these people could collectively sign an event announcing the compromise to the network and designate a new key as your legitimate one. Apps could handle this process seamlessly in the background, notifying followers of the switch without much user interaction. This could become a popular choice for average users, but it is not without tradeoffs. It requires trust in your chosen web of trust, which might not suit power users or large organizations. It also has the issue that some apps may not recognize the key rotation properly and followers might get confused about which account is “real.”

For those needing higher security, there is the option of multisig using FROST (Flexible Round-Optimized Schnorr Threshold). In this setup, multiple keys must sign off on every action, including posting and updating a profile. A hacker with just one key could not do anything. This is likely overkill for most users due to complexity and inconvenience, but it could be a game changer for large organizations, companies, and governments. Imagine the White House nostr account requiring signatures from multiple people before a post goes live, that would be much more secure than the status quo big tech model.

Another option are hardware signers, similar to bitcoin hardware wallets. Private keys are kept on secure, offline devices, separate from the internet connected phone or computer you use to broadcast events. This drastically reduces the risk of remote hacks, as private keys never touches the internet. It can be used in combination with multisig setups for extra protection. This setup is much less convenient and probably overkill for most but could be ideal for governments, companies, or other high profile accounts.

---

Nostr’s security model is not perfect but is robust and versatile. Ultimately users are in control and security is their responsibility. Apps will give users multiple options to choose from and users will choose what best fits their need.

@ 04c915da:3dfbecc9

In much of the world, it is incredibly difficult to access U.S. dollars. Local currencies are often poorly managed and riddled with corruption. Billions of people demand a more reliable alternative. While the dollar has its own issues of corruption and mismanagement, it is widely regarded as superior to the fiat currencies it competes with globally. As a result, Tether has found massive success providing low cost, low friction access to dollars. Tether claims 400 million total users, is on track to add 200 million more this year, processes 8.1 million transactions daily, and facilitates $29 billion in daily transfers. Furthermore, their estimates suggest nearly 40% of users rely on it as a savings tool rather than just a transactional currency.

Tether’s rise has made the company a financial juggernaut. Last year alone, Tether raked in over $13 billion in profit, with a lean team of less than 100 employees. Their business model is elegantly simple: hold U.S. Treasuries and collect the interest. With over $113 billion in Treasuries, Tether has turned a straightforward concept into a profit machine.

Tether’s success has resulted in many competitors eager to claim a piece of the pie. This has triggered a massive venture capital grift cycle in USD tokens, with countless projects vying to dethrone Tether. Due to Tether’s entrenched network effect, these challengers face an uphill battle with little realistic chance of success. Most educated participants in the space likely recognize this reality but seem content to perpetuate the grift, hoping to cash out by dumping their equity positions on unsuspecting buyers before they realize the reality of the situation.

Historically, Tether’s greatest vulnerability has been U.S. government intervention. For over a decade, the company operated offshore with few allies in the U.S. establishment, making it a major target for regulatory action. That dynamic has shifted recently and Tether has seized the opportunity. By actively courting U.S. government support, Tether has fortified their position. This strategic move will likely cement their status as the dominant USD token for years to come.

While undeniably a great tool for the millions of users that rely on it, Tether is not without flaws. As a centralized, trusted third party, it holds the power to freeze or seize funds at its discretion. Corporate mismanagement or deliberate malpractice could also lead to massive losses at scale. In their goal of mitigating regulatory risk, Tether has deepened ties with law enforcement, mirroring some of the concerns of potential central bank digital currencies. In practice, Tether operates as a corporate CBDC alternative, collaborating with authorities to surveil and seize funds. The company proudly touts partnerships with leading surveillance firms and its own data reveals cooperation in over 1,000 law enforcement cases, with more than $2.5 billion in funds frozen.

---

The global demand for Tether is undeniable and the company’s profitability reflects its unrivaled success. Tether is owned and operated by bitcoiners and will likely continue to push forward strategic goals that help the movement as a whole. Recent efforts to mitigate the threat of U.S. government enforcement will likely solidify their network effect and stifle meaningful adoption of rival USD tokens or CBDCs. Yet, for all their achievements, Tether is simply a worse form of money than bitcoin. Tether requires trust in a centralized entity, while bitcoin can be saved or spent without permission. Furthermore, Tether is tied to the value of the US Dollar which is designed to lose purchasing power over time, while bitcoin, as a truly scarce asset, is designed to increase in purchasing power with adoption. As people awaken to the risks of Tether’s control, and the benefits bitcoin provides, bitcoin adoption will likely surpass it.

@ 04c915da:3dfbecc9

One of the most common criticisms leveled against nostr is the perceived lack of assurance when it comes to data storage. Critics argue that without a centralized authority guaranteeing that all data is preserved, important information will be lost. They also claim that running a relay will become prohibitively expensive. While there is truth to these concerns, they miss the mark. The genius of nostr lies in its flexibility, resilience, and the way it harnesses human incentives to ensure data availability in practice.

A nostr relay is simply a server that holds cryptographically verifiable signed data and makes it available to others. Relays are simple, flexible, open, and require no permission to run. Critics are right that operating a relay attempting to store all nostr data will be costly. What they miss is that most will not run all encompassing archive relays. Nostr does not rely on massive archive relays. Instead, anyone can run a relay and choose to store whatever subset of data they want. This keeps costs low and operations flexible, making relay operation accessible to all sorts of individuals and entities with varying use cases.

Critics are correct that there is no ironclad guarantee that every piece of data will always be available. Unlike bitcoin where data permanence is baked into the system at a steep cost, nostr does not promise that every random note or meme will be preserved forever. That said, in practice, any data perceived as valuable by someone will likely be stored and distributed by multiple entities. If something matters to someone, they will keep a signed copy.

Nostr is the Streisand Effect in protocol form. The Streisand effect is when an attempt to suppress information backfires, causing it to spread even further. With nostr, anyone can broadcast signed data, anyone can store it, and anyone can distribute it. Try to censor something important? Good luck. The moment it catches attention, it will be stored on relays across the globe, copied, and shared by those who find it worth keeping. Data deemed important will be replicated across servers by individuals acting in their own interest.

Nostr’s distributed nature ensures that the system does not rely on a single point of failure or a corporate overlord. Instead, it leans on the collective will of its users. The result is a network where costs stay manageable, participation is open to all, and valuable verifiable data is stored and distributed forever.

@ c9badfea:610f861a

1. Install Lemuroid (it's free and open source)
2. Launch the app, enable notifications, and select a directory for your games (e.g. /Download/ROMs)
3. Download game ROMs and place them in the folder from the previous step (see links below)
4. Open Lemuroid again, navigate to the Home tab, and tap the downloaded game
5. Enjoy!

Some ROM Sources

• WowRoms
• Retrospot

ℹ️ An internet connection is only required when opening a game for the first time to download the emulator core per system (e.g. Gameboy or PS2)

ℹ️ Supported ROM file formats include .nes, .gba, .sfc, .gb, .iso, .bin, and .zip

ℹ️ You may need to extract downloaded ROM files if they are packaged as archives (e.g. .7z, .rar, or .zip)

@ 21335073:a244b1ad

Someone asked for my thoughts, so I’ll share them thoughtfully. I’m not here to dictate how to promote Nostr—I’m still learning about it myself. While I’m not new to Nostr, freedom tech is a newer space for me. I’m skilled at advocating for topics I deeply understand, but freedom tech isn’t my expertise, so take my words with a grain of salt. Nothing I say is set in stone.

Those who need Nostr the most are the ones most vulnerable to censorship on other platforms right now. Reaching them requires real-time awareness of global issues and the dynamic relationships between governments and tech providers, which can shift suddenly. Effective Nostr promoters must grasp this and adapt quickly.

The best messengers are people from or closely tied to these at-risk regions—those who truly understand the local political and cultural dynamics. They can connect with those in need when tensions rise. Ideal promoters are rational, trustworthy, passionate about Nostr, but above all, dedicated to amplifying people’s voices when it matters most.

Forget influencers, corporate-backed figures, or traditional online PR—it comes off as inauthentic, corny, desperate and forced. Nostr’s promotion should be grassroots and organic, driven by a few passionate individuals who believe in Nostr and the communities they serve.

The idea that “people won’t join Nostr due to lack of reach” is nonsense. Everyone knows X’s “reach” is mostly with bots. If humans want real conversations, Nostr is the place. X is great for propaganda, but Nostr is for the authentic voices of the people.

Those spreading Nostr must be so passionate they’re willing to onboard others, which is time-consuming but rewarding for the right person. They’ll need to make Nostr and onboarding a core part of who they are. I see no issue with that level of dedication. I’ve been known to get that way myself at times. It’s fun for some folks.

With love, I suggest not adding Bitcoin promotion with Nostr outreach. Zaps already integrate that element naturally. (Still promote within the Bitcoin ecosystem, but this is about reaching vulnerable voices who needed Nostr yesterday.)

To promote Nostr, forget conventional strategies. “Influencers” aren’t the answer. “Influencers” are not the future. A trusted local community member has real influence—reach them. Connect with people seeking Nostr’s benefits but lacking the technical language to express it. This means some in the Nostr community might need to step outside of the Bitcoin bubble, which is uncomfortable but necessary. Thank you in advance to those who are willing to do that.

I don’t know who is paid to promote Nostr, if anyone. This piece isn’t shade. But it’s exhausting to see innocent voices globally silenced on corporate platforms like X while Nostr exists. Last night, I wondered: how many more voices must be censored before the Nostr community gets uncomfortable and thinks creatively to reach the vulnerable?

A warning: the global need for censorship-resistant social media is undeniable. If Nostr doesn’t make itself known, something else will fill that void. Let’s start this conversation.

@ 21335073:a244b1ad

Please respect Virginia Giuffre’s memory by refraining from asking about the circumstances or theories surrounding her passing.

Since Virginia Giuffre’s death, I’ve reflected on what she would want me to say or do. This piece is my attempt to honor her legacy.

When I first spoke with Virginia, I was struck by her unshakable hope. I had grown cynical after years in the anti-human trafficking movement, worn down by a broken system and a government that often seemed complicit. But Virginia’s passion, creativity, and belief that survivors could be heard reignited something in me. She reminded me of my younger, more hopeful self. Instead of warning her about the challenges ahead, I let her dream big, unburdened by my own disillusionment. That conversation changed me for the better, and following her lead led to meaningful progress.

Virginia was one of the bravest people I’ve ever known. As a survivor of Epstein, Maxwell, and their co-conspirators, she risked everything to speak out, taking on some of the world’s most powerful figures.

She loved when I said, “Epstein isn’t the only Epstein.” This wasn’t just about one man—it was a call to hold all abusers accountable and to ensure survivors find hope and healing.

The Epstein case often gets reduced to sensational details about the elite, but that misses the bigger picture. Yes, we should be holding all of the co-conspirators accountable, we must listen to the survivors’ stories. Their experiences reveal how predators exploit vulnerabilities, offering lessons to prevent future victims.

You’re not powerless in this fight. Educate yourself about trafficking and abuse—online and offline—and take steps to protect those around you. Supporting survivors starts with small, meaningful actions. Free online resources can guide you in being a safe, supportive presence.

When high-profile accusations arise, resist snap judgments. Instead of dismissing survivors as “crazy,” pause to consider the trauma they may be navigating. Speaking out or coping with abuse is never easy. You don’t have to believe every claim, but you can refrain from attacking accusers online.

Society also fails at providing aftercare for survivors. The government, often part of the problem, won’t solve this. It’s up to us. Prevention is critical, but when abuse occurs, step up for your loved ones and community. Protect the vulnerable. it’s a challenging but a rewarding journey.

If you’re contributing to Nostr, you’re helping build a censorship resistant platform where survivors can share their stories freely, no matter how powerful their abusers are. Their voices can endure here, offering strength and hope to others. This gives me great hope for the future.

Virginia Giuffre’s courage was a gift to the world. It was an honor to know and serve her. She will be deeply missed. My hope is that her story inspires others to take on the powerful.

@ 52b4a076:e7fad8bd

I have been recently building NFDB, a new relay DB. This post is meant as a short overview.

Regular relays have challenges

Current relay software have significant challenges, which I have experienced when hosting Nostr.land: - Scalability is only supported by adding full replicas, which does not scale to large relays. - Most relays use slow databases and are not optimized for large scale usage. - Search is near-impossible to implement on standard relays. - Privacy features such as NIP-42 are lacking. - Regular DB maintenance tasks on normal relays require extended downtime. - Fault-tolerance is implemented, if any, using a load balancer, which is limited. - Personalization and advanced filtering is not possible. - Local caching is not supported.

NFDB: A scalable database for large relays

NFDB is a new database meant for medium-large scale relays, built on FoundationDB that provides: - Near-unlimited scalability - Extended fault tolerance - Instant loading - Better search - Better personalization - and more.

Search

NFDB has extended search capabilities including: - Semantic search: Search for meaning, not words. - Interest-based search: Highlight content you care about. - Multi-faceted queries: Easily filter by topic, author group, keywords, and more at the same time. - Wide support for event kinds, including users, articles, etc.

Personalization

NFDB allows significant personalization: - Customized algorithms: Be your own algorithm. - Spam filtering: Filter content to your WoT, and use advanced spam filters. - Topic mutes: Mute topics, not keywords. - Media filtering: With Nostr.build, you will be able to filter NSFW and other content - Low data mode: Block notes that use high amounts of cellular data. - and more

Other

NFDB has support for many other features such as: - NIP-42: Protect your privacy with private drafts and DMs - Microrelays: Easily deploy your own personal microrelay - Containers: Dedicated, fast storage for discoverability events such as relay lists

Calcite: A local microrelay database

Calcite is a lightweight, local version of NFDB that is meant for microrelays and caching, meant for thousands of personal microrelays.

Calcite HA is an additional layer that allows live migration and relay failover in under 30 seconds, providing higher availability compared to current relays with greater simplicity. Calcite HA is enabled in all Calcite deployments.

For zero-downtime, NFDB is recommended.

Noswhere SmartCache

Relays are fixed in one location, but users can be anywhere.

Noswhere SmartCache is a CDN for relays that dynamically caches data on edge servers closest to you, allowing: - Multiple regions around the world - Improved throughput and performance - Faster loading times

routerd

routerd is a custom load-balancer optimized for Nostr relays, integrated with SmartCache.

routerd is specifically integrated with NFDB and Calcite HA to provide fast failover and high performance.

Ending notes

NFDB is planned to be deployed to Nostr.land in the coming weeks.

A lot more is to come. 👀️️️️️️

@ bbef5093:71228592

Technológiai fejlemények

Az Egyesült Államokban és világszerte jelentős előrelépések történtek a nukleáris technológia területén. A mesterséges intelligencia (AI) egyre nagyobb szerepet kap az atomerőművek működtetésében: például a kaliforniai Diablo Canyon atomerőmű már alkalmaz generatív AI-t a dokumentumkezelés és az üzemeltetési hatékonyság javítására. Az AI segíti az üzemeltetőket a karbantartás előrejelzésében, a biztonság növelésében és a reaktorok élettartamának meghosszabbításában is. Emellett az USA Nukleáris Szabályozó Bizottsága (NRC) is vizsgálja, hogyan gyorsíthatná fel az engedélyezési folyamatokat AI-alapú rendszerekkel, ami jelentősen felgyorsíthatja az új reaktorok telepítését.

A NANO Nuclear Energy jelentős mérföldkövet ért el: megszerezte a KRONOS MMR™ (45 MWth teljesítményű, helyhez kötött mikroreaktor) és a LOKI MMR™ (1–5 MWth teljesítményű, hordozható mikroreaktor) technológiákat, és ezek fejlesztését az USA-ban és Kanadában is előmozdítja. A KRONOS MMR üzemanyag-minősítési módszertanát az NRC már jóváhagyta, ami kulcsfontosságú a kereskedelmi bevezetéshez

Ipari és piaci fejlemények

Az amerikai The Nuclear Company startup 46 millió dolláros tőkebevonással kívánja új, nagy teljesítményű atomerőművek fejlesztését megkezdeni, elsősorban már engedélyezett helyszíneken. A cél, hogy az első flottában összesen 6 gigawatt kapacitást hozzanak létre. Ez a lépés válasz a gyorsan növekvő amerikai áramigényre, amelyet főként az adatközpontok és a mesterséges intelligencia-alkalmazások hajtanak. Ugyanakkor a nukleáris ipar pénzügyi kilátásait bizonytalanság övezi, mivel az amerikai törvényhozás egyes tervezetei a nukleáris energia adókedvezményeinek megszüntetését is kilátásba helyezték, ami a jövőbeni beruházások megtérülését is befolyásolhatja.

Belgiumban a parlament váratlan fordulattal úgy döntött, hogy nem zárják be az atomerőműveket, hanem tíz évvel meghosszabbítják a reaktorok élettartamát, sőt, új reaktorok építését is tervezik. A döntés mögött az energiaválság, az ellátásbiztonság és a geopolitikai feszültségek állnak.

Magyarországon folytatódik a Paks II. projekt előkészítése, és napirenden van kis moduláris reaktorok (SMR) telepítése is, amelyek néhány száz megawattos teljesítményükkel akár ipari zónákat vagy városokat is önállóan elláthatnak.

Pénzügyi és geopolitikai aktualitások

A nukleáris energia geopolitikai jelentősége továbbra is kiemelkedő. Tajvan szombaton leállítja utolsó működő atomerőművi blokkját, ami jelentős LNG-import költségnövekedést eredményez, és komoly vitákat váltott ki a szigetországban. A törvényhozás ugyanakkor már vizsgálja az atomenergia-törvény felülvizsgálatát, amely lehetővé teheti a reaktorok újraindítását – erről akár népszavazás is lehet a közeljövőben.

Az USA és Irán között folytatódnak az atomprogramról szóló tárgyalások. Bár közelednek az álláspontok, az USA új szankciókat vezetett be Irán ellen, mivel Teherán továbbra is magas szintű urándúsítást folytat. Az esetleges megállapodás rövid távon növelheti az iráni kőolajexportot, ami a világpiaci árakra is hatással lehet.

@ e39333da:7c66e53a

::youtube{#Pex7jW3Tqwo}

Developer SHIFT UP has announced that their latest titled, Stellar Blade, that was released on PS5 on the 2024, will release on PC via Steam and EGS on the 11th of June 2025.

The game will be priced at $60, and $80 for the edition of the game that includes the 'Twin Expansion Pack', which includes the NieR: Automata DLC and the Goddess of Victory: Nikke DLC, and a key to redeem a Stellar Blade costume in the developer's previous Free-to-Play title Goddess of Victory: Nikke.

The trailer released to announce said release date also showcases the changes the made for the game and highlight PC specific enhancements, support, and options.

It's worth noting, in terms of negative news that tagged along with this, that the game will have Denuvo running, which there are evidence that decreases a game's performance, and may prevent you from playing the game offline. The game will also have an optional PSN account login, and because of this, the game is not available for purchase in around 130 countries. There's also an exclusive outfit locked behind a PSN-to-Steam account linking.

Here's the system requirements:

| | Minimum | Recommended | High | Very High | | ----------------------- | ----------------------------------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------- | | Average Performance | 1080P at 60 frames per second | 1440P at 60 frames per second | 1440P at 60 frames per second | 4K at 60 frames per second | | Graphic Presets | Low | Medium | High | Very High | | CPU | Intel Core i5-7600K AMD Ryzen 5 1600X | Intel Core i5-8400 AMD Ryzen 5 3600X | Intel Core i5-8400 AMD Ryzen 5 3600X | Intel Core i5-8400 AMD Ryzen 5 3600X | | GPU | NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1060 6GB AMD Radeon RX 580 8GB | NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 SUPER AMD Radeon RX 5700 XT | NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2070 SUPER AMD Radeon RX 6700 XT | NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 AMD Radeon RX 7900 XT | | RAM | 16GB | 16GB | 16GB | 16GB | | Storage | 75GB HDD (SSD Recommended) | 75GB SSD | 75GB SSD | 75GB SSD | | OS | Windows 10 64-bit | Windows 10 64-bit | Windows 10 64-bit | Windows 10 64-bit |

@ 91bea5cd:1df4451c

O Contexto Legal Brasileiro e o Consentimento

No ordenamento jurídico brasileiro, o consentimento do ofendido pode, em certas circunstâncias, afastar a ilicitude de um ato que, sem ele, configuraria crime (como lesão corporal leve, prevista no Art. 129 do Código Penal). Contudo, o consentimento tem limites claros: não é válido para bens jurídicos indisponíveis, como a vida, e sua eficácia é questionável em casos de lesões corporais graves ou gravíssimas.

A prática de BDSM consensual situa-se em uma zona complexa. Em tese, se ambos os parceiros são adultos, capazes, e consentiram livre e informadamente nos atos praticados, sem que resultem em lesões graves permanentes ou risco de morte não consentido, não haveria crime. O desafio reside na comprovação desse consentimento, especialmente se uma das partes, posteriormente, o negar ou alegar coação.

A Lei Maria da Penha (Lei nº 11.340/2006)

A Lei Maria da Penha é um marco fundamental na proteção da mulher contra a violência doméstica e familiar. Ela estabelece mecanismos para coibir e prevenir tal violência, definindo suas formas (física, psicológica, sexual, patrimonial e moral) e prevendo medidas protetivas de urgência.

Embora essencial, a aplicação da lei em contextos de BDSM pode ser delicada. Uma alegação de violência por parte da mulher, mesmo que as lesões ou situações decorram de práticas consensuais, tende a receber atenção prioritária das autoridades, dada a presunção de vulnerabilidade estabelecida pela lei. Isso pode criar um cenário onde o parceiro masculino enfrenta dificuldades significativas em demonstrar a natureza consensual dos atos, especialmente se não houver provas robustas pré-constituídas.

Outros riscos:

Lesão corporal grave ou gravíssima (art. 129, §§ 1º e 2º, CP), não pode ser justificada pelo consentimento, podendo ensejar persecução penal.

Crimes contra a dignidade sexual (arts. 213 e seguintes do CP) são de ação pública incondicionada e independem de representação da vítima para a investigação e denúncia.

Riscos de Falsas Acusações e Alegação de Coação Futura

Os riscos para os praticantes de BDSM, especialmente para o parceiro que assume o papel dominante ou que inflige dor/restrição (frequentemente, mas não exclusivamente, o homem), podem surgir de diversas frentes:

1. Acusações Externas: Vizinhos, familiares ou amigos que desconhecem a natureza consensual do relacionamento podem interpretar sons, marcas ou comportamentos como sinais de abuso e denunciar às autoridades.
2. Alegações Futuras da Parceira: Em caso de término conturbado, vingança, arrependimento ou mudança de perspectiva, a parceira pode reinterpretar as práticas passadas como abuso e buscar reparação ou retaliação através de uma denúncia. A alegação pode ser de que o consentimento nunca existiu ou foi viciado.
3. Alegação de Coação: Uma das formas mais complexas de refutar é a alegação de que o consentimento foi obtido mediante coação (física, moral, psicológica ou econômica). A parceira pode alegar, por exemplo, que se sentia pressionada, intimidada ou dependente, e que seu "sim" não era genuíno. Provar a ausência de coação a posteriori é extremamente difícil.
4. Ingenuidade e Vulnerabilidade Masculina: Muitos homens, confiando na dinâmica consensual e na parceira, podem negligenciar a necessidade de precauções. A crença de que "isso nunca aconteceria comigo" ou a falta de conhecimento sobre as implicações legais e o peso processual de uma acusação no âmbito da Lei Maria da Penha podem deixá-los vulneráveis. A presença de marcas físicas, mesmo que consentidas, pode ser usada como evidência de agressão, invertendo o ônus da prova na prática, ainda que não na teoria jurídica.

Estratégias de Prevenção e Mitigação

Não existe um método infalível para evitar completamente o risco de uma falsa acusação, mas diversas medidas podem ser adotadas para construir um histórico de consentimento e reduzir vulnerabilidades:

1. Comunicação Explícita e Contínua: A base de qualquer prática BDSM segura é a comunicação constante. Negociar limites, desejos, palavras de segurança ("safewords") e expectativas antes, durante e depois das cenas é crucial. Manter registros dessas negociações (e-mails, mensagens, diários compartilhados) pode ser útil.

2. Documentação do Consentimento:

   • Contratos de Relacionamento/Cena: Embora a validade jurídica de "contratos BDSM" seja discutível no Brasil (não podem afastar normas de ordem pública), eles servem como forte evidência da intenção das partes, da negociação detalhada de limites e do consentimento informado. Devem ser claros, datados, assinados e, idealmente, reconhecidos em cartório (para prova de data e autenticidade das assinaturas).

   • Registros Audiovisuais: Gravar (com consentimento explícito para a gravação) discussões sobre consentimento e limites antes das cenas pode ser uma prova poderosa. Gravar as próprias cenas é mais complexo devido a questões de privacidade e potencial uso indevido, mas pode ser considerado em casos específicos, sempre com consentimento mútuo documentado para a gravação.

     Importante: a gravação deve ser com ciência da outra parte, para não configurar violação da intimidade (art. 5º, X, da Constituição Federal e art. 20 do Código Civil).

3. Testemunhas: Em alguns contextos de comunidade BDSM, a presença de terceiros de confiança durante negociações ou mesmo cenas pode servir como testemunho, embora isso possa alterar a dinâmica íntima do casal.

4. Estabelecimento Claro de Limites e Palavras de Segurança: Definir e respeitar rigorosamente os limites (o que é permitido, o que é proibido) e as palavras de segurança é fundamental. O desrespeito a uma palavra de segurança encerra o consentimento para aquele ato.
5. Avaliação Contínua do Consentimento: O consentimento não é um cheque em branco; ele deve ser entusiástico, contínuo e revogável a qualquer momento. Verificar o bem-estar do parceiro durante a cena ("check-ins") é essencial.
6. Discrição e Cuidado com Evidências Físicas: Ser discreto sobre a natureza do relacionamento pode evitar mal-entendidos externos. Após cenas que deixem marcas, é prudente que ambos os parceiros estejam cientes e de acordo, talvez documentando por fotos (com data) e uma nota sobre a consensualidade da prática que as gerou.
7. Aconselhamento Jurídico Preventivo: Consultar um advogado especializado em direito de família e criminal, com sensibilidade para dinâmicas de relacionamento alternativas, pode fornecer orientação personalizada sobre as melhores formas de documentar o consentimento e entender os riscos legais específicos.

Observações Importantes

• Nenhuma documentação substitui a necessidade de consentimento real, livre, informado e contínuo.
• A lei brasileira protege a "integridade física" e a "dignidade humana". Práticas que resultem em lesões graves ou que violem a dignidade de forma não consentida (ou com consentimento viciado) serão ilegais, independentemente de qualquer acordo prévio.
• Em caso de acusação, a existência de documentação robusta de consentimento não garante a absolvição, mas fortalece significativamente a defesa, ajudando a demonstrar a natureza consensual da relação e das práticas.

• A alegação de coação futura é particularmente difícil de prevenir apenas com documentos. Um histórico consistente de comunicação aberta (whatsapp/telegram/e-mails), respeito mútuo e ausência de dependência ou controle excessivo na relação pode ajudar a contextualizar a dinâmica como não coercitiva.

• Cuidado com Marcas Visíveis e Lesões Graves Práticas que resultam em hematomas severos ou lesões podem ser interpretadas como agressão, mesmo que consentidas. Evitar excessos protege não apenas a integridade física, mas também evita questionamentos legais futuros.

O que vem a ser consentimento viciado

No Direito, consentimento viciado é quando a pessoa concorda com algo, mas a vontade dela não é livre ou plena — ou seja, o consentimento existe formalmente, mas é defeituoso por alguma razão.

O Código Civil brasileiro (art. 138 a 165) define várias formas de vício de consentimento. As principais são:

Erro: A pessoa se engana sobre o que está consentindo. (Ex.: A pessoa acredita que vai participar de um jogo leve, mas na verdade é exposta a práticas pesadas.)

Dolo: A pessoa é enganada propositalmente para aceitar algo. (Ex.: Alguém mente sobre o que vai acontecer durante a prática.)

Coação: A pessoa é forçada ou ameaçada a consentir. (Ex.: "Se você não aceitar, eu termino com você" — pressão emocional forte pode ser vista como coação.)

Estado de perigo ou lesão: A pessoa aceita algo em situação de necessidade extrema ou abuso de sua vulnerabilidade. (Ex.: Alguém em situação emocional muito fragilizada é induzida a aceitar práticas que normalmente recusaria.)

No contexto de BDSM, isso é ainda mais delicado: Mesmo que a pessoa tenha "assinado" um contrato ou dito "sim", se depois ela alegar que seu consentimento foi dado sob medo, engano ou pressão psicológica, o consentimento pode ser considerado viciado — e, portanto, juridicamente inválido.

Isso tem duas implicações sérias:

1. O crime não se descaracteriza: Se houver vício, o consentimento é ignorado e a prática pode ser tratada como crime normal (lesão corporal, estupro, tortura, etc.).

2. A prova do consentimento precisa ser sólida: Mostrando que a pessoa estava informada, lúcida, livre e sem qualquer tipo de coação.

   Consentimento viciado é quando a pessoa concorda formalmente, mas de maneira enganada, forçada ou pressionada, tornando o consentimento inútil para efeitos jurídicos.

Conclusão

Casais que praticam BDSM consensual no Brasil navegam em um terreno que exige não apenas confiança mútua e comunicação excepcional, mas também uma consciência aguçada das complexidades legais e dos riscos de interpretações equivocadas ou acusações mal-intencionadas. Embora o BDSM seja uma expressão legítima da sexualidade humana, sua prática no Brasil exige responsabilidade redobrada. Ter provas claras de consentimento, manter a comunicação aberta e agir com prudência são formas eficazes de se proteger de falsas alegações e preservar a liberdade e a segurança de todos os envolvidos. Embora leis controversas como a Maria da Penha sejam "vitais" para a proteção contra a violência real, os praticantes de BDSM, e em particular os homens nesse contexto, devem adotar uma postura proativa e prudente para mitigar os riscos inerentes à potencial má interpretação ou instrumentalização dessas práticas e leis, garantindo que a expressão de sua consensualidade esteja resguardada na medida do possível.

---

Importante: No Brasil, mesmo com tudo isso, o Ministério Público pode denunciar por crime como lesão corporal grave, estupro ou tortura, independente de consentimento. Então a prudência nas práticas é fundamental.

Aviso Legal: Este artigo tem caráter meramente informativo e não constitui aconselhamento jurídico. As leis e interpretações podem mudar, e cada situação é única. Recomenda-se buscar orientação de um advogado qualificado para discutir casos específicos.

Se curtiu este artigo faça uma contribuição, se tiver algum ponto relevante para o artigo deixe seu comentário.

@ 84b0c46a:417782f5

₍ ･ᴗ･ ₎ ₍ ･ᴗ･ ₎₍ ･ᴗ･ ₎

@ 99e7936f:d5d2197c

Baustelle HERZ

Können wir nicht einfach glücklich sein? Nein.

Eine traumatisierte Gesellschaft kann nicht EINFACH glücklich sein, weil die Herzen verletzt sind.

„Ja, aber es gibt doch auch noch andere Probleme als Trauma“, kritisieren einige.

„Ich habe schließlich eine Familie und einen anstrengenden Job“, erklären andere.

„Für mich ist das eine abstrakte Diskussion, ein Luxusproblem“, geben manche zu bedenken.

„Eigentlich möchte ich mich mit dem Thema gar nicht beschäftigen“, sagen wenige, denken aber viele.

„Ich beschäftige mich lieber mit positiven Dingen“, ist die diplomatische Variante der Vermeidung dieses Themas.

Niemand redet gerne über Trauma, bis es an die eigene Tür klopft. Und dann ist guter Rat teuer. Dann würde man gerne reden, aber die anderen wollen immer noch nicht.

Niemand redet gerne über Trauma.

„Was heißt denn Anklopfen?“ Mit Anklopfen meine ich die Situationen, die jeder kennt. Gemeint sind ganz normale Lebenskrisen, die es mehrmals in jedem Leben gibt.

„Ist denn eine Lebenskrise gleichzusetzten mit einem Trauma?“ Nein, aber durch eine starke Lebenskrise kann ein altes Trauma wieder hochgespült werden, und das fühlt sich dann original so an, wie das Trauma, das man z.B. als Kind oder später im Leben erlebt hat.

Und das passiert in einer traumatisierten Gesellschaft ständig, nur nennen die Leute es nicht so. Niemand sagt: „Er oder sie hat ein aktiviertes Trauma.“

Hierzu habe ich eine Anekdote. Vor ein paar Monaten zog in das Nachbarhaus bei mir auf der Straße ein junger Mann ein. Das Haus war frisch renoviert worden. Es zogen zeitgleich mehrere junge Leute jeweils in eine Wohnung dieses Hauses ein. Die Stimmung im Haus war gut, weil alles neu und geschmackvoll gestaltet worden war und die Mieter gut zusammen passten. Dann merkten die Mieter und Nachbarn, dass es einem jungen Mann nicht gut ging. Er saß den ganzen Tag in der Wohnung, konnte sich zu nichts aufraffen. Er schaffte es nicht, sich Lebensmittel einzukaufen. Ein Freund kam regelmäßig vorbei und brachte ihm Essen. Eine ältere Nachbarin fragte nach einigen Monaten diesen Freund, was dem jungen Mann denn fehle, ob er eine Krankheit habe oder was denn los sei. Der Freund lachte und sagte nur einen Satz: „Er stirbt.“

Die Nachbarin erzählte mir das und schaute mich fragend an. Ich übersetzte ihr den Satz und meinte: „Er hat vermutlich Liebeskummer.“ Aber was ich wirklich dachte, war, dass er ein aktiviertes Trauma hatte, nur sagte ich das nicht zur Nachbarin. Nach mittlerweile zwei Jahren kommt der Freund immer noch regelmäßig und bringt dem jungen Mann Essen. Er kauft für ihn ein und kümmert sich um ihn.

Manche Menschen leiden sehr lange unter Verlusten, Zurückweisungen, Niederlagen, Verletzungen. Andere kommen nie auf die nächste Stufe, obwohl sie sich unaufhörlich anstrengen. Wieder andere haben alles und sind dennoch unzufrieden und in permanenter Angriffshaltung. All diese Phänomene dauern oft lange, manchmal sogar ein Leben lang. Meines Erachtens sind das aktivierte Traumen bzw. Traumen, die gut verschlossen dennoch im Unterbewusstsein gegen die eigene Person arbeiten.

Trauma hat viele Gesichter.

Es kommt bei den unmöglichsten Gelegenheiten zum Vorschein. Und oft erkennen wir es nicht als das, was es ist. Wir suchen den Grund im Außen, den es ja meist auch gibt. Nur ist der Grund nicht der Grund, sondern nur der Auslöser.

Auch ich bin einmal „gestorben“. Dieser Zustand dauerte über drei Jahre an. Deshalb klingelte es bei mir auch sofort im Ohr als die Nachbarin sagte, der Freund habe gesagt: „Er stirbt.“

Sprache ist wunderbar.

Wer beides schon mal erlebt hat, eine normale Trennung und eine schwere Trennung, einen normalen Arbeitsplatzwechsel oder einen dramatischen Jobverlust, ein geplatztes Geschäft oder einen geplatzten Lebenstraum, das Ende einer Freundschaft oder eine Kränkung, über die man noch nach 35 Jahren so berichtet, als ob es gestern gewesen wäre, der kennt den Unterschied in der Intensität der Gefühle. Manche Menschen erzählen immer wieder eine Geschichte, obwohl man sie schon kennt und auch sein Mitgefühl dazu ausgedrückt hat. Manche Menschen reden gar nicht mehr über eine bestimmte Sache, bis einem irgendwann von Dritten gesagt wird, dass man ihn oder sie besser nicht auf das Thema XYZ ansprechen sollte.

All das sind aktivierte Traumen, die noch weh tun, noch nicht verarbeitet sind. Es sind Dinge, die jedem von uns passieren können. Jeder erlebt im Leben partnerschaftliche Trennungen, geplatzte Geschäfte und Kränkungen am laufenden Meter, aber es „trifft“ einen nicht immer gleich. Und es trifft nicht nur die Sensiblen, sondern es trifft jeden, wenn der Punkt, an dem es trifft, wund ist. Der wunde Punkt macht jeden sensibel. Auch robuste Naturen haben einen wunden Punkt. Und wenn der getroffen wird, dann werden auch die härtesten Menschen butterweich. In einer traumatisierten Gesellschaft wird jeder so oft  „getroffen“, wie es braucht, bis er sich dem Thema widmet. Wir alle haben diese frühen oder späten Traumen erlebt, die früher oder später erneut durch Krisen aktiviert werden. Und dann „sterben“ wir, zumindest gefühlt.

Denn Trauma ist immer existenziell.

Und aktiviertes Trauma ist bitte nicht zu verwechseln mit Depression. Es ist ein aktiviertes Trauma, das sich im Unterschied zur Depression sehr wach, lebendig und vor allem schmerzvoll anfühlt. Es fühlt sich an wie „damals“. Das versteht man, in der Situation steckend, komischerweise sofort, denn wir haben ein Schmerzgedächtnis. Wir können Düfte oder Musik ja auch sofort zuordnen, wenn sie uns an etwas erinnern. Mit Schmerz ist es ähnlich. Aber es fällt so schwer, darüber zu reden, weil es keiner versteht und weil es dafür meines Erachtens in unserer Sprache keine Worte gibt. Man versteht das erst, wenn man es selbst erlebt hat. Und dann reichen zwei Worte.

Die Baustelle HERZ versteht man erst, wenn man selbst ein aktiviertes Trauma erlebt, durchlebt hat, wenn man einmal „gestorben“ ist.

Heute kann ich an Äußerungen, die jemand macht, gut ablesen, ob jemand seine Baustelle HERZ bereits kennen gelernt hat oder nicht. Menschen, die das selbst noch nicht kennen gelernt haben, haben oft aufmunternde Sprüche wie „Das wird schon wieder. Jetzt lass den Kopf mal nicht hängen.“ Das hilft einem dann in etwa so, wie wenn man in einer Depression gesagt bekommt: „Nun lach doch mal.“ Man weiß dann sofort, welchen Erfahrungshintergrund das Gegenüber hat. Das ist keine Wertung, nur eine Feststellung. Unsere Kultur hat hier einfach wichtiges Wissen verloren. Ich persönlich weiß nicht, wie es ist, ein Kind auf die Welt zu bringen oder ein Kind zu verlieren. Ich weiß vieles nicht und habe vermutlich auch schon wenig hilfreiche Kommentare abgegeben, weil ich es nicht besser wusste. Aber ich weiß, wie sich ein aktiviertes Trauma anfühlt. Und das ist ein wertvolles Wissen, was ich gern teilen möchte. Man schaut mit diesem erfahrenen Wissen (kein Bücher-Wissen) viel  differenzierter auf das Leid anderer Menschen. Es gibt so viele Sorten von Trauma und deswegen auch Sorten von aktiviertem Trauma. Manchmal denkt man sich nichts dabei und sagt etwas, und schon hat man beim anderen einen Punkt getroffen, der dadurch nun schmerzt. Wenn man Glück hat, dann dauert der Schmerz nur kurz an. Wenn man Pech hat, ist die Freundschaft zu Ende. Ich habe das selbst schon erlebt. Mal war ich es, die den Rückzug angetreten hat. Mal war es der andere. Hinter diesen Phänomenen steckt nichtverarbeitetes Trauma. Die Bildungslücke bezüglich Trauma in unserer Gesellschaft ist (gewollt) riesig.

Wir sind eine traumatisierte Gesellschaft, die nicht weiß, dass sie eine traumatisierte Gesellschaft ist.

Viele Menschen haben unverarbeitetes Trauma im Gepäck. Wir haben selbst nach Jahren der Therapie und Selbstreflektion immer noch unverarbeitete Anteile eines Traumas im Gepäck, das wir glaubten, bearbeitet zu haben. Mir ist das bewusst geworden, je besser ich mein eigenes Trauma kennen und lieben gelernt habe.

Eigentlich wollte ich heute kurz etwas über den gesunden Umgang mit Gefühlen schreiben. Beim Schreiben habe ich aber gemerkt, dass ich erstmal etwas über das Haus erzählen muss, bevor ich über die Gäste, die Gefühle, rede. Ich bin das Haus, das durch Verstand und Gefühle belebt wird. Und hinter dem Haus gibt es noch ein ganzes Universum, auf das ich heute nicht eingehen möchte.

Gefühle und Fühlen sind zentral wichtig, wenn man Trauma bearbeiten möchte.

Trauma wird solange aktiviert, bis es bearbeitet wurde.

In einer traumatisierten Gesellschaft wird 24/7 Trauma aktiviert. Und das ist gut so. Die Evolution schläft nicht. Die Evolution schenkt uns Schmerz, damit wir ihr Aufmerksamkeit schenken.

Das Leben liebt uns, und wiederkehrender Schmerz ist wie die Schlummerfunktion am Wecker, die möchte, dass wir aufwachen.

In unserer traumatisierten Gesellschaft klingelt momentan nicht nur der Wecker. Alles, was tönen kann, gibt Signal. Mir kommt es in dieser Zeit manchmal vor, wie wenn sich   gleichzeitig  , das Kinder-Sinfonieorchester mit sämtlichen Instrumenten einstimmt, jemand mit dem Handy telefoniert, das Fenster zur Hauptstraße offen steht, der Bus anfährt, der Auspuff röhrt, jemand hupt, das Martinshorn aufheult, die Drehorgel spielt, das Pausenzeichen in der Schule ertönt, es an der Tür klingelt und die Kirchenorgel aus allen Pfeifen flötet und brummt.  

Aktiviertes Trauma macht ordentlich Krach individuell und erst recht gesellschaftlich gesehen. Und je lauter es ist, desto dringender möchte es bearbeitet werden.

Die Baustelle HERZ zu bearbeiten, lohnt sich. Und Fühlen bringt die Verwandlung.

@ e691f4df:1099ad65

Viewing Bitcoin Through the Light of Awakening

Ankh & Ohm Capital’s Overview of the Psycho-Spiritual Nature of Bitcoin

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Glossary:

I. Preface: The Logos of Our Logo

II. An Oracular Introduction

III. Alchemizing Greed

IV. Layers of Fractalized Thought

V. Permissionless Individuation

VI. Dispelling Paradox Through Resonance

VII. Ego Deflation

VIII. The Coin of Great Price

Preface: The Logos of Our Logo

Before we offer our lens on Bitcoin, it’s important to illuminate the meaning behind Ankh & Ohm’s name and symbol. These elements are not ornamental—they are foundational, expressing the cosmological principles that guide our work.

Our mission is to bridge the eternal with the practical. As a Bitcoin-focused family office and consulting firm, we understand capital not as an end, but as a tool—one that, when properly aligned, becomes a vehicle for divine order. We see Bitcoin not simply as a technological innovation but as an emanation of the Divine Logos—a harmonic expression of truth, transparency, and incorruptible structure. Both the beginning and the end, the Alpha and Omega.

The Ankh (☥), an ancient symbol of eternal life, is a key to the integration of opposites. It unites spirit and matter, force and form, continuity and change. It reminds us that capital, like Life, must not only be generative, but regenerative; sacred. Money must serve Life, not siphon from it.

The Ohm (Ω) holds a dual meaning. In physics, it denotes a unit of electrical resistance—the formative tension that gives energy coherence. In the Vedic tradition, Om (ॐ) is the primordial vibration—the sound from which all existence unfolds. Together, these symbols affirm a timeless truth: resistance and resonance are both sacred instruments of the Creator.

Ankh & Ohm, then, represents our striving for union, for harmony —between the flow of life and intentional structure, between incalculable abundance and measured restraint, between the lightbulb’s electrical impulse and its light-emitting filament. We stand at the threshold where intention becomes action, and where capital is not extracted, but cultivated in rhythm with the cosmos. 

We exist to shepherd this transformation, as guides of this threshold —helping families, founders, and institutions align with a deeper order, where capital serves not as the prize, but as a pathway to collective Presence, Purpose, Peace and Prosperity.

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An Oracular Introduction

Bitcoin is commonly understood as the first truly decentralized and secure form of digital money—a breakthrough in monetary sovereignty. But this view, while technically correct, is incomplete and spiritually shallow. Bitcoin is more than a tool for economic disruption. Bitcoin represents a mythic threshold: a symbol of the psycho-spiritual shift that many ancient traditions have long foretold.

For millennia, sages and seers have spoken of a coming Golden Age. In the Vedic Yuga cycles, in Plato’s Great Year, in the Eagle and Condor prophecies of the Americas—there exists a common thread: that humanity will emerge from darkness into a time of harmony, cooperation, and clarity. That the veil of illusion (maya, materiality) will thin, and reality will once again become transparent to the transcendent. In such an age, systems based on scarcity, deception, and centralization fall away. A new cosmology takes root—one grounded in balance, coherence, and sacred reciprocity.

But we must ask—how does such a shift happen? How do we cross from the age of scarcity, fear, and domination into one of coherence, abundance, and freedom?

One possible answer lies in the alchemy of incentive.

Bitcoin operates not just on the rules of computer science or Austrian economics, but on something far more old and subtle: the logic of transformation. It transmutes greed—a base instinct rooted in scarcity—into cooperation, transparency, and incorruptibility.

In this light, Bitcoin becomes more than code—it becomes a psychoactive protocol, one that rewires human behavior by aligning individual gain with collective integrity. It is not simply a new form of money. It is a new myth of value. A new operating system for human consciousness.

Bitcoin does not moralize. It harmonizes. It transforms the instinct for self-preservation into a pathway for planetary coherence.

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Alchemizing Greed

At the heart of Bitcoin lies the ancient alchemical principle of transmutation: that which is base may be refined into gold.

Greed, long condemned as a vice, is not inherently evil. It is a distorted longing. A warped echo of the drive to preserve life. But in systems built on scarcity and deception, this longing calcifies into hoarding, corruption, and decay.

Bitcoin introduces a new game. A game with memory. A game that makes deception inefficient and truth profitable. It does not demand virtue—it encodes consequence. Its design does not suppress greed; it reprograms it.

In traditional models, game theory often illustrates the fragility of trust. The Prisoner’s Dilemma reveals how self-interest can sabotage collective well-being. But Bitcoin inverts this. It creates an environment where self-interest and integrity converge—where the most rational action is also the most truthful.

Its ledger, immutable and transparent, exposes manipulation for what it is: energetically wasteful and economically self-defeating. Dishonesty burns energy and yields nothing. The network punishes incoherence, not by decree, but by natural law.

This is the spiritual elegance of Bitcoin: it does not suppress greed—it transmutes it. It channels the drive for personal gain into the architecture of collective order. Miners compete not to dominate, but to validate. Nodes collaborate not through trust, but through mathematical proof.

This is not austerity. It is alchemy.

Greed, under Bitcoin, is refined. Tempered. Re-forged into a generative force—no longer parasitic, but harmonic.

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Layers of Fractalized Thought Fragments

All living systems are layered. So is the cosmos. So is the human being. So is a musical scale.

At its foundation lies the timechain—the pulsing, incorruptible record of truth. Like the heart, it beats steadily. Every block, like a pulse, affirms its life through continuity. The difficulty adjustment—Bitcoin’s internal calibration—functions like heart rate variability, adapting to pressure while preserving coherence.

Above this base layer is the Lightning Network—a second layer facilitating rapid, efficient transactions. It is the nervous system: transmitting energy, reducing latency, enabling real-time interaction across a distributed whole.

Beyond that, emerging tools like Fedimint and Cashu function like the capillaries—bringing vitality to the extremities, to those underserved by legacy systems. They empower the unbanked, the overlooked, the forgotten. Privacy and dignity in the palms of those the old system refused to see.

And then there is NOSTR—the decentralized protocol for communication and creation. It is the throat chakra, the vocal cords of the “freedom-tech” body. It reclaims speech from the algorithmic overlords, making expression sovereign once more. It is also the reproductive system, as it enables the propagation of novel ideas and protocols in fertile, uncensorable soil.

Each layer plays its part. Not in hierarchy, but in harmony. In holarchy. Bitcoin and other open source protocols grow not through exogenous command, but through endogenous coherence. Like cells in an organism. Like a song.

Imagine the cell as a piece of glass from a shattered holographic plate —by which its perspectival, moving image can be restructured from the single shard. DNA isn’t only a logical script of base pairs, but an evolving progressive song. Its lyrics imbued with wise reflections on relationships.  The nucleus sings, the cell responds—not by command, but by memory. Life is not imposed; it is expressed. A reflection of a hidden pattern.

Bitcoin chants this. Each node, a living cell, holds the full timechain—Truth distributed, incorruptible. Remove one, and the whole remains. This isn’t redundancy. It’s a revelation on the power of protection in Truth.

Consensus is communion. Verification becomes a sacred rite—Truth made audible through math. 

Not just the signal; the song. A web of self-expression woven from Truth.

No center, yet every point alive with the whole. Like Indra’s Net, each reflects all. This is more than currency and information exchange. It is memory; a self-remembering Mind, unfolding through consensus and code. A Mind reflecting the Truth of reality at the speed of thought.

Heuristics are mental shortcuts—efficient, imperfect, alive. Like cells, they must adapt or decay. To become unbiased is to have self-balancing heuristics which carry feedback loops within them: they listen to the environment, mutate when needed, and survive by resonance with reality. Mutation is not error, but evolution. Its rules are simple, but their expression is dynamic. 

What persists is not rigidity, but pattern. 

To think clearly is not necessarily to be certain, but to dissolve doubt by listening, adjusting, and evolving thought itself.

To understand Bitcoin is simply to listen—patiently, clearly, as one would to a familiar rhythm returning.

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Permissionless Individuation

Bitcoin is a path. One that no one can walk for you.

Said differently, it is not a passive act. It cannot be spoon-fed. Like a spiritual path, it demands initiation, effort, and the willingness to question inherited beliefs.

Because Bitcoin is permissionless, no one can be forced to adopt it. One must choose to engage it—compelled by need, interest, or intuition. Each person who embarks undergoes their own version of the hero’s journey.

Carl Jung called this process Individuation—the reconciliation of fragmented psychic elements into a coherent, mature Self. Bitcoin mirrors this: it invites individuals to confront the unconscious assumptions of the fiat paradigm, and to re-integrate their relationship to time, value, and agency.

In Western traditions—alchemy, Christianity, Kabbalah—the individual is sacred, and salvation is personal. In Eastern systems—Daoism, Buddhism, the Vedas—the self is ultimately dissolved into the cosmic whole. Bitcoin, in a paradoxical way, echoes both: it empowers the individual, while aligning them with a holistic, transcendent order.

To truly see Bitcoin is to allow something false to die. A belief. A habit. A self-concept.

In that death—a space opens for deeper connection with the Divine itSelf. 

In that dissolution, something luminous is reborn. 

After the passing, Truth becomes resurrected.  

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Dispelling Paradox Through Resonance

There is a subtle paradox encoded into the hero’s journey: each starts in solidarity, yet the awakening affects the collective.

No one can be forced into understanding Bitcoin. Like a spiritual truth, it must be seen. And yet, once seen, it becomes nearly impossible to unsee—and easier for others to glimpse. The pattern catches.

This phenomenon mirrors the concept of morphic resonance, as proposed and empirically tested by biologist Rupert Sheldrake. Once a critical mass of individuals begins to embody a new behavior or awareness, it becomes easier—instinctive—for others to follow suit. Like the proverbial hundredth monkey who begins to wash the fruit in the sea water, and suddenly, monkeys across islands begin doing the same—without ever meeting.

When enough individuals embody a pattern, it ripples outward. Not through propaganda, but through field effect and wave propagation. It becomes accessible, instinctive, familiar—even across great distance.

Bitcoin spreads in this way. Not through centralized broadcast, but through subtle resonance. Each new node, each individual who integrates the protocol into their life, strengthens the signal for others. The protocol doesn’t shout; it hums, oscillates and vibrates——persistently, coherently, patiently.

One awakens. Another follows. The current builds. What was fringe becomes familiar. What was radical becomes obvious.

This is the sacred geometry of spiritual awakening. One awakens, another follows, and soon the fluidic current is strong enough to carry the rest. One becomes two, two become many, and eventually the many become One again. This tessellation reverberates through the human aura, not as ideology, but as perceivable pattern recognition.

Bitcoin’s most powerful marketing tool is truth. Its most compelling evangelist is reality. Its most unstoppable force is resonance.

Therefore, Bitcoin is not just financial infrastructure—it is psychic scaffolding. It is part of the subtle architecture through which new patterns of coherence ripple across the collective field. 

The training wheels from which humanity learns to embody Peace and Prosperity.

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Ego Deflation

The process of awakening is not linear, and its beginning is rarely gentle—it usually begins with disruption, with ego inflation and destruction.

To individuate is to shape a center; to recognize peripherals and create boundaries—to say, “I am.” But without integration, the ego tilts—collapsing into void or inflating into noise. Fiat reflects this pathology: scarcity hoarded, abundance simulated. Stagnation becomes disguised as safety, and inflation masquerades as growth.

In other words, to become whole, the ego must first rise—claiming agency, autonomy, and identity. However, when left unbalanced, it inflates, or implodes. It forgets its context. It begins to consume rather than connect. And so the process must reverse: what inflates must deflate.

In the fiat paradigm, this inflation is literal. More is printed, and ethos is diluted. Savings decay. Meaning erodes. Value is abstracted. The economy becomes bloated with inaudible noise. And like the psyche that refuses to confront its own shadow, it begins to collapse under the weight of its own illusions.

But under Bitcoin, time is honored. Value is preserved. Energy is not abstracted but grounded.

Bitcoin is inherently deflationary—in both economic and spiritual senses. With a fixed supply, it reveals what is truly scarce. Not money, not status—but the finite number of heartbeats we each carry.

To see Bitcoin is to feel that limit in one’s soul. To hold Bitcoin is to feel Time’s weight again. To sense the importance of Bitcoin is to feel the value of preserved, potential energy. It is to confront the reality that what matters cannot be printed, inflated, or faked. In this way, Bitcoin gently confronts the ego—not through punishment, but through clarity.

Deflation, rightly understood, is not collapse—it is refinement. It strips away illusion, bloat, and excess. It restores the clarity of essence.

Spiritually, this is liberation.

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The Coin of Great Price

There is an ancient parable told by a wise man:

“The kingdom of heaven is like a merchant seeking fine pearls, who, upon finding one of great price, sold all he had and bought it.”

Bitcoin is such a pearl.

But the ledger is more than a chest full of treasure. It is a key to the heart of things.

It is not just software—it is sacrament.

A symbol of what cannot be corrupted. A mirror of divine order etched into code. A map back to the sacred center.

It reflects what endures. It encodes what cannot be falsified. It remembers what we forgot: that Truth, when aligned with form, becomes Light once again.

Its design is not arbitrary. It speaks the language of life itself— 

The elliptic orbits of the planets mirrored in its cryptography,

The logarithmic spiral of the nautilus shell discloses its adoption rate,

The interconnectivity of mycelium in soil reflect the network of nodes in cyberspace, 

A webbed breadth of neurons across synaptic space fires with each new confirmed transaction.

It is geometry in devotion. Stillness in motion.

It is the Logos clothed in protocol.

What this key unlocks is beyond external riches. It is the eternal gold within us.

Clarity. Sovereignty. The unshakeable knowing that what is real cannot be taken. That what is sacred was never for sale.

Bitcoin is not the destination.

It is the Path.

And we—when we are willing to see it—are the Temple it leads back to.

@ 87fedb9f:0da83419

Push it! Push it! Push it!

That chant still echoes in my bones, not just from the gym, but from the inside out. I remember watching a bodybuilder once — the weight trembling above him, his muscles bulging and giving out, the spotters swooping in to catch the bar just in time. “Train to failure,” they said. “That’s how you grow.”

And it makes sense, doesn’t it? If you’re being chased by a wild beast, you run until your body gives out. That’s how we’re wired — to survive first and foremost, not necessarily to thrive.

But what if the house we’re building isn’t under threat from wolves? What if we’ve got stone-moving machines and time to breathe? What if we’re not being chased anymore… but we still act like we are?

See, survival patterns are sneaky. They wear masks. They show up in workouts and work days. They dress up in ambition, caffeine, and “just one more thing before I stop.”

I’ve never been a bodybuilder — my brother was — but I’ve tried that route in my own work life. Lift to failure. Push it. Every other day, I’d be nursing another injury to body and mind.

I wasn’t getting stronger. I was just breaking myself in cycles. Push, break, recover, repeat.

I see the same thing with brains. Push it. Adderall. More coffee. Keep going. Hit the wall. And then—collapse.

That’s not strengthening. That’s surviving pretending to be “powerful.”

What happens to the rest of your system when your brain is sucking up all the energy just to stay on task? You stop digesting. You stop feeling the sun on your skin. You stop enjoying your kids’ laughter. Everything feels like something to push through.

That isn’t thriving.

Thriving feels different. It’s alive, yes — there’s activation. But it’s not strained. When we’re in thriving mode, we’re with our energy, not yanking it out by the roots and forcing it to regrow. The muscles — or the mind — are engaged, fluid, expressive. Alive.

It’s a fine line. You can take the same exact action and fill it with stress.

I’ve done it. I’ve turned a perfectly normal task into a survival sprint. It feels ridiculous in hindsight — like, why did I make this email reply into a mountain climb?

Because my primitive brain still whispers, “If you don’t do this perfectly and fast, you’ll die.” Not literally. But the threat feels real. The imagined judgment, the self-criticism, the fear of not being enough — they’re imaginary lions in the tall grass of modern life.

I’ve used this system on myself. I’ve strained my nervous system like fingernails scraping rock to avoid a fall that was never coming.

That’s what we’re supposed to do, right? We bring survival force into every aspect. Into parenting. Into projects. Into relationships.

And we wonder why we’re tired all the time. Not sleepy tired — soul tired. That kind of tired that feels like you ran for your life… but all you did was sit at your desk.

Here’s what I know now: if you’re not actually in danger, you can stop living like you are.

You don’t have to push everything to the edge. You don’t have to prove your strength through strain. Strength can be alive in you — not torn, not depleted, but awake and sustaining.

And when we live from there, the recovery feels different, too. We’re not collapsing. We’re restoring.

We’re not dropping all the pieces and then forcing ourselves to pick them up… again! Instead, we’re crafting a thriving life from the pieces we find, fashion, and consciously put in place.

There’s a wisdom to building your foundation around thriving — not just surviving. And thriving starts with recognizing: it’s not life or death to get through your inbox. Your self-worth isn’t measured by how busy and depleted you are.

Look around. Are you stacking more and more iron to prove something? Or are you listening to the quiet whisper that says, “Yes, move… but don’t hurt yourself doing it.”

And in a life that tells you to push until you fail, choosing to rest and relish — choosing to feel alive rather than just alive-enough — might just be the truest strength there is.

Useful Concepts for Thriving in This Story

• Primitive Brain\ The primitive brain keeps us on high alert even when we’re safe — it’s time to question whether the lion is real.

• Unrushed\ Being unrushed is a radical shift from survival tempo to the rhythm of true aliveness.

• Savvy\ Savvy invites us to work with our energy wisely, not destructively — to choose thriving over proving.

• Vitality\ Vitality flows when we stop draining ourselves for performance and start living from inner strength.

• Inspired Action\ Inspired action arises from presence and aliveness, not adrenaline and depletion.

@ 8f69ac99:4f92f5fd

Há algo quase reconfortante na previsibilidade com que certos colunistas abordam Bitcoin: a cada oportunidade, repetem os mesmos chavões, reciclados com indignação moralista e embrulhados numa embalagem de falsa autoridade. O artigo publicado na Visão, com o título dramático "De criança prodígio a adolescente problemático", encaixa-se perfeitamente nesse molde.

Trata-se de uma peça de opinião que mistura factos irrelevantes com interpretações enviesadas, estatísticas sem contexto e um medo mal disfarçado de perder o monopólio da narrativa económica. A autora, Sofia Santos Machado, opta por colar em Bitcoin os desastres do chamado “mundo cripto” como se fossem parte do mesmo fenómeno — ignorando, por conveniência ou ignorância, que Bitcoin não é altcoins, não é NFTs, não é esquemas de yield exótico, e não é fintech vestida de blockchain.

Esta resposta centra-se exclusivamente em Bitcoin — um protocolo monetário aberto, incorruptível e resistente à censura, que já está a servir como salvaguarda de valor em regiões onde o sistema financeiro convencional falhou. Não me interessa defender pirâmides, tokens inflacionários ou aventuras bancárias mal calculadas.

Criticar Bitcoin é legítimo — mas fazê-lo sem saber do que se fala é apenas desinformação.

A Histeria da Água — Falar Sem Saber

O artigo abre com uma pérola alarmista sobre o consumo de água:

“Uma única transacção de bitcoin consome seis milhões de vezes mais água do que um pagamento com cartão.”

Seis. Milhões. De vezes. Resta saber se a autora escreveu isto com cara séria ou a rir-se enquanto bebia água engarrafada dos Alpes Suíços.

Fontes? Metodologia? Contexto? Estou a brincar — isto é a Visão, onde os números são decoração e os factos opcionais.

Claro que comparar transacções na camada base de Bitcoin com pagamentos "instantâneos" da rede Visa é tão rigoroso como comparar um Boeing 747 com um avião de papel porque um voa mais longe. Um artigo sério teria falado em batching, na Lightning Network, ou no facto de que Bitcoin nem sequer compete com a Visa nesse nível, nem em nenhum. Mas isso exigiria, imagine-se, investigação.

Pior ainda, não há qualquer menção ao consumo de água na extracção de ouro, nos data centers bancários, ou no treino de modelos de inteligência artificial. Pelos vistos, só Bitcoin tem de obedecer aos mandamentos ecológicos da Visão. O resto? Santa ignorância selectiva.

Criminosos e o Fantasma do Satoshi

Eis o clássico: “Bitcoin é usado por criminosos”. Um cliché bafiento tirado do baú de 2013, agora reapresentado como se fosse escândalo fresco.

Na realidade, Bitcoin é pseudónimo, não anónimo. Todas as transacções ficam gravadas num livro público — não é propriamente o esconderijo ideal para lavar dinheiro, a menos que sejas fã de disfarces em néon.

E os dados? Claríssimos. Segundo a Chainalysis e a Europol, a actividade ilícita com Bitcoin tem vindo a diminuir. Enquanto isso, os bancos — esses bastiões de confiança — continuam a ser apanhados a lavar biliões para cartéis e cleptocratas. Mas disso a Visão não fala. Devia estragar a narrativa.

O verdadeiro crime aqui é a preguiça intelectual tão profunda que quase merece uma moldura. A Visão tem um editor?

O Espantalho Energético

Como uma criança que acabou de aprender uma palavra nova, a Visão repete “consumo energético” como se fosse um pecado original. Bitcoin usa electricidade — escândalo!

Mas vejamos: o Proof-of-Work não é um defeito. É a razão pela qual Bitcoin é seguro. Não há “desperdício” — há uso, e muitas vezes com energia excedente, renovável, ou que de outro modo seria desperdiçada. É por isso que os mineiros se instalam junto a barragens remotas, queima de gás (flaring), ou parques eólicos no meio do nada — não porque odeiam o planeta, mas porque os incentivos económicos funcionam. Escrevi sobre isso aqui.

O que a Visão convenientemente ignora é que Bitcoin está a ajudar a integrar mais energia renovável nas redes, funcionando como carga flexível. Mas nuance? Trabalho de casa? Esquece lá isso.

Para uma explicação mais séria, podiam ter ouvido o podcast A Seita Bitcoin com o Daniel Batten. Mas para quê investigar?

Cripto = Bitcoin = Fraude?

Aqui chegamos ao buraco negro intelectual: enfiar tudo no mesmo saco. FTX colapsou? Culpa de Bitcoin. Um banqueiro jogou com altcoins? Culpa de Bitcoin. Scam de NFT? Deve ter sido o Satoshi.

Vamos esclarecer: Bitcoin não é “cripto”. Bitcoin é descentralizado, sem líderes, transparente. Não teve pré-mineração, não tem CEO, não promete lucros. O que o rodeia? Tokens centralizados, esquemas Ponzi, pirâmides e vaporware — precisamente o oposto do que Bitcoin representa.

Se um executivo bancário perde o dinheiro dos clientes em Dogecoins, isso é um problema dele. Bitcoin não lhe prometeu nada. Foi a ganância.

E convenhamos: os bancos tradicionais também colapsam. E não precisam de satoshis para isso. Bastam dívidas mal geridas, contabilidade criativa e uma fé cega no sistema.

Culpar Bitcoin por falcatruas “cripto” é como culpar o TCP/IP ou SMTP por emails de phishing. É preguiçoso, desonesto e diz-nos mais sobre a autora do que sobre a tecnologia.

Promessas Por Cumprir? Só Se Não Estiveres a Ver

A "jornalista" da Visão lamenta que “após 15 anos, os riscos são reais mas as promessas por cumprir”. Que promessas? Dinheiro grátis? Cafés pagos com QR codes mágicos?

Bitcoin nunca prometeu fazer cappuccinos mais rápidos. Prometeu soberania monetária, resistência à censura e um sistema previsível. E tem cumprido — diariamente, para milhões. E para o cappuccino, há sempre a Lightning Network.

Pergunta aos venezuelanos, nigerianos, peruanos ou argentinos se Bitcoin falhou. Para muitos, é a única forma de escapar à hiperinflação, ao confisco estatal e à decadência financeira.

Bitcoin não é uma app. É infra-estrutura. É uma nova camada base para o dinheiro global. Não se vê — mas protege, impõe regras e não obedece a caprichos de banqueiros centrais.

E isso assusta. Especialmente quem nunca viveu fora da bolha do euro.

Conclusão: A Visão a Gritar Contra o Progresso

No fim, o artigo da Visão é um festival de clichés, dados errados e ressentimento. Não é só enganador. É desonesto. Culpa a tecnologia pelos erros dos homens. Rejeita o futuro em nome do conforto passado.

Bitcoin não é uma varinha mágica. Mas é a fundação de uma nova liberdade financeira. Uma ferramenta para proteger valor, resistir a abusos e escapar ao controlo constante de quem acha que sabe o que é melhor para ti.

Portanto, fica aqui o desafio, Sofia: se queres criticar Bitcoin, primeiro percebe o que é. Lê o white paper. Estuda. Faz perguntas difíceis.

Caso contrário, és só mais um cão a ladrar para a trovoada — muito barulho, zero impacto.

@ 975e4ad5:8d4847ce

Introduction

Bitcoin and torrents are two technologies that have reshaped how people share information and resources in the digital age. Both are built on decentralized principles and challenge traditional systems—torrents in the realm of file sharing, and Bitcoin in the world of finance. However, while torrents have seen a decline in popularity with the rise of streaming platforms like Netflix and HBO, many wonder whether Bitcoin will follow a similar trajectory or continue to grow as a widely adopted technology. This article explores the similarities between the two technologies, the resilience of torrents against attempts to shut them down, the reasons for their declining popularity, and why Bitcoin is likely to avoid a similar fate.

Similarities Between Torrents and Bitcoin

Torrents and Bitcoin share several key characteristics that make them unique and resilient:

1. Decentralization:\ Torrents rely on peer-to-peer (P2P) networks, where users share files directly with each other without depending on a central server. Similarly, Bitcoin operates on a blockchain—a decentralized network of nodes that maintain and validate transactions. This lack of a central authority makes both technologies difficult to control or shut down.

2. Censorship Resistance:\ Both systems are designed to withstand attempts at restriction. Torrents continue to function even when specific sites like The Pirate Bay are blocked, as the network relies on thousands of users worldwide. Bitcoin is also resistant to government bans, as transactions are processed by a global network of miners.

3. Anonymity and Pseudonymity:\ Torrents allow users to share files without revealing their identities, especially when using VPNs. Bitcoin, while pseudonymous (transactions are public but not directly tied to real-world identities), offers a similar level of privacy, attracting users seeking financial freedom.

4. Open Source:\ Both technologies are open-source, enabling developers to improve and adapt them. This fosters innovation and makes the systems more resilient to attacks.

Why Torrents Cannot Be Stopped

Torrents have persisted despite numerous attempts to curb them due to their decentralized nature. Governments and organizations have shut down sites like The Pirate Bay and Kickass Torrents, but new platforms quickly emerge. The key reasons for their resilience include:

• P2P Architecture:\ Torrents do not rely on a single server. Every user downloading or sharing a file becomes part of the network, making it impossible to completely dismantle.

• Global Distribution:\ Millions of users worldwide sustain torrent networks. Even if one country imposes strict regulations, others continue to support the system.

• Adaptability:\ The torrent community quickly adapts to challenges, using VPNs, proxy servers, or the dark web to bypass restrictions.

Despite this resilience, the popularity of torrents has significantly declined in recent years, particularly among younger users.

The Decline of Torrents: Why They Lost Popularity

In the early 2000s, torrents were the primary way to access movies, music, and software. They were easy to use, free, and offered a vast array of content. However, the rise of streaming platforms like Netflix, HBO, Disney+, and Spotify has changed how people consume media. The main reasons for the decline of torrents include:

1. Convenience:\ Streaming platforms provide instant access to high-quality content without the need for downloading or specialized software. Torrents, in contrast, require technical knowledge and are often slower.

2. Legality and Safety:\ Using torrents carries risks such as viruses, malware, and legal consequences. Streaming services offer a safe and legal alternative.

3. Marketing and Accessibility:\ Platforms like Netflix invest billions in original content and marketing, attracting younger users who prefer easy access over free but risky downloads.

4. Social Shifts:\ Younger generations, raised with access to subscription services, are often unfamiliar with torrents or view them as outdated. Studies from 2023 indicate that only a small percentage of people under 25 regularly use torrents.

Despite this decline, torrents have not disappeared entirely. They are still used in regions with limited access to streaming services or by users who value free access to niche content.

Why Bitcoin Will Not Share the Fate of Torrents

Despite the similarities, Bitcoin has unique characteristics that make it more likely to achieve mainstream adoption rather than being overshadowed by alternatives. Here are the key reasons:

1. Financial Revolution:\ Bitcoin addresses problems that lack direct alternatives. It enables transactions without intermediaries, which is particularly valuable in countries with unstable currencies or limited banking access. Unlike torrents, which were replaced by more convenient streaming platforms, traditional financial systems still have flaws that Bitcoin addresses.

2. Institutional Adoption:\ Major companies like Tesla, PayPal, and Square accept Bitcoin or invest in it. Financial institutions, including JPMorgan and Goldman Sachs, are developing cryptocurrency-related products. This institutional acceptance boosts Bitcoin’s credibility and legitimacy, something torrents never achieved.

3. Limited Supply:\ Bitcoin’s fixed supply of 21 million coins makes it attractive as a store of value, similar to gold. This characteristic distinguishes it from other technologies and gives it potential for long-term growth.

4. Technological Advancements:\ The Bitcoin network evolves through improvements like the Lightning Network, which makes transactions faster and cheaper. These innovations make it competitive with traditional payment systems, whereas torrents failed to adapt to streaming technologies.

5. Global Financial Integration:\ Unlike torrents, which remained in the niche of file sharing, Bitcoin has the potential to integrate into the global financial system. Countries like El Salvador have already recognized it as legal tender, and others may follow suit.

6. Cultural and Economic Significance:\ Bitcoin is perceived not only as a technology but also as a movement for financial independence and decentralization. This ideology attracts young people and tech enthusiasts, making it more resilient to the social shifts that affected torrents.

Conclusion

Torrents and Bitcoin share common roots as decentralized technologies that challenge the status quo. However, while torrents lost popularity due to the rise of more convenient and legal alternatives, Bitcoin has the potential to avoid this fate. Its ability to address real financial problems, institutional adoption, and technological advancements make it a likely candidate for mainstream use in the future. While torrents remained a niche technology, Bitcoin is emerging as a global force that could transform how the world perceives money.

@ 40b9c85f:5e61b451

Introduction

Data Vending Machines (DVMs) have emerged as a crucial component of the Nostr ecosystem, offering specialized computational services to clients across the network. As defined in NIP-90, DVMs operate on an apparently simple principle: "data in, data out." They provide a marketplace for data processing where users request specific jobs (like text translation, content recommendation, or AI text generation)

While DVMs have gained significant traction, the current specification faces challenges that hinder widespread adoption and consistent implementation. This article explores some ideas on how we can apply the reflection pattern, a well established approach in RPC systems, to address these challenges and improve the DVM ecosystem's clarity, consistency, and usability.

The Current State of DVMs: Challenges and Limitations

The NIP-90 specification provides a broad framework for DVMs, but this flexibility has led to several issues:

1. Inconsistent Implementation

As noted by hzrd149 in "DVMs were a mistake" every DVM implementation tends to expect inputs in slightly different formats, even while ostensibly following the same specification. For example, a translation request DVM might expect an event ID in one particular format, while an LLM service could expect a "prompt" input that's not even specified in NIP-90.

2. Fragmented Specifications

The DVM specification reserves a range of event kinds (5000-6000), each meant for different types of computational jobs. While creating sub-specifications for each job type is being explored as a possible solution for clarity, in a decentralized and permissionless landscape like Nostr, relying solely on specification enforcement won't be effective for creating a healthy ecosystem. A more comprehensible approach is needed that works with, rather than against, the open nature of the protocol.

3. Ambiguous API Interfaces

There's no standardized way for clients to discover what parameters a specific DVM accepts, which are required versus optional, or what output format to expect. This creates uncertainty and forces developers to rely on documentation outside the protocol itself, if such documentation exists at all.

The Reflection Pattern: A Solution from RPC Systems

The reflection pattern in RPC systems offers a compelling solution to many of these challenges. At its core, reflection enables servers to provide metadata about their available services, methods, and data types at runtime, allowing clients to dynamically discover and interact with the server's API.

In established RPC frameworks like gRPC, reflection serves as a self-describing mechanism where services expose their interface definitions and requirements. In MCP reflection is used to expose the capabilities of the server, such as tools, resources, and prompts. Clients can learn about available capabilities without prior knowledge, and systems can adapt to changes without requiring rebuilds or redeployments. This standardized introspection creates a unified way to query service metadata, making tools like grpcurl possible without requiring precompiled stubs.

How Reflection Could Transform the DVM Specification

By incorporating reflection principles into the DVM specification, we could create a more coherent and predictable ecosystem. DVMs already implement some sort of reflection through the use of 'nip90params', which allow clients to discover some parameters, constraints, and features of the DVMs, such as whether they accept encryption, nutzaps, etc. However, this approach could be expanded to provide more comprehensive self-description capabilities.

1. Defined Lifecycle Phases

Similar to the Model Context Protocol (MCP), DVMs could benefit from a clear lifecycle consisting of an initialization phase and an operation phase. During initialization, the client and DVM would negotiate capabilities and exchange metadata, with the DVM providing a JSON schema containing its input requirements. nip-89 (or other) announcements can be used to bootstrap the discovery and negotiation process by providing the input schema directly. Then, during the operation phase, the client would interact with the DVM according to the negotiated schema and parameters.

2. Schema-Based Interactions

Rather than relying on rigid specifications for each job type, DVMs could self-advertise their schemas. This would allow clients to understand which parameters are required versus optional, what type validation should occur for inputs, what output formats to expect, and what payment flows are supported. By internalizing the input schema of the DVMs they wish to consume, clients gain clarity on how to interact effectively.

3. Capability Negotiation

Capability negotiation would enable DVMs to advertise their supported features, such as encryption methods, payment options, or specialized functionalities. This would allow clients to adjust their interaction approach based on the specific capabilities of each DVM they encounter.

Implementation Approach

While building DVMCP, I realized that the RPC reflection pattern used there could be beneficial for constructing DVMs in general. Since DVMs already follow an RPC style for their operation, and reflection is a natural extension of this approach, it could significantly enhance and clarify the DVM specification.

A reflection enhanced DVM protocol could work as follows: 1. Discovery: Clients discover DVMs through existing NIP-89 application handlers, input schemas could also be advertised in nip-89 announcements, making the second step unnecessary. 2. Schema Request: Clients request the DVM's input schema for the specific job type they're interested in 3. Validation: Clients validate their request against the provided schema before submission 4. Operation: The job proceeds through the standard NIP-90 flow, but with clearer expectations on both sides

Parallels with Other Protocols

This approach has proven successful in other contexts. The Model Context Protocol (MCP) implements a similar lifecycle with capability negotiation during initialization, allowing any client to communicate with any server as long as they adhere to the base protocol. MCP and DVM protocols share fundamental similarities, both aim to expose and consume computational resources through a JSON-RPC-like interface, albeit with specific differences.

gRPC's reflection service similarly allows clients to discover service definitions at runtime, enabling generic tools to work with any gRPC service without prior knowledge. In the REST API world, OpenAPI/Swagger specifications document interfaces in a way that makes them discoverable and testable.

DVMs would benefit from adopting these patterns while maintaining the decentralized, permissionless nature of Nostr.

Conclusion

I am not attempting to rewrite the DVM specification; rather, explore some ideas that could help the ecosystem improve incrementally, reducing fragmentation and making the ecosystem more comprehensible. By allowing DVMs to self describe their interfaces, we could maintain the flexibility that makes Nostr powerful while providing the structure needed for interoperability.

For developers building DVM clients or libraries, this approach would simplify consumption by providing clear expectations about inputs and outputs. For DVM operators, it would establish a standard way to communicate their service's requirements without relying on external documentation.

I am currently developing DVMCP following these patterns. Of course, DVMs and MCP servers have different details; MCP includes capabilities such as tools, resources, and prompts on the server side, as well as 'roots' and 'sampling' on the client side, creating a bidirectional way to consume capabilities. In contrast, DVMs typically function similarly to MCP tools, where you call a DVM with an input and receive an output, with each job type representing a different categorization of the work performed.

Without further ado, I hope this article has provided some insight into the potential benefits of applying the reflection pattern to the DVM specification.

@ b2caa9b3:9eab0fb5

Yesterday, I faced one of the most heartbreaking and frustrating experiences of my life. Between 10:00 AM and 2:00 PM, I was held at the Taveta border, denied entry into Kenya—despite having all the necessary documents, including a valid visitor’s permit and an official invitation letter.

The Kenyan Immigration officers refused to speak with me. When I asked for clarification, I was told flatly that I would never be allowed to enter Kenya unless I obtain a work permit. No other reason was given. My attempts to explain that I simply wanted to see my child were ignored. No empathy. No flexibility. No conversation. Just rejection.

While I stood there for hours, held by officials with no explanation beyond a bureaucratic wall, I recorded the experience. I now have several hours of footage documenting what happened—a silent testimony to how a system can dehumanize and block basic rights.

And the situation doesn’t end at the border.

My child, born in Kenya, is also being denied the right to see me. Germany refuses to grant her citizenship, which means she cannot visit me either. The German embassy in Nairobi refuses to assist, stating they won’t get involved. Their silence is loud.

This is not just about paperwork. This is about a child growing up without her father. It’s about a system that chooses walls over bridges, and bureaucracy over humanity. Kenya, by refusing me entry, is keeping a father away from his child. Germany, by refusing to act under §13 StGB, is complicit in that injustice.

In the coming days, I’ll share more about my past travels and how this situation unfolded. I’ll also be releasing videos and updates on TikTok—because this story needs to be heard. Not just for me, but for every parent and child caught between borders and bureaucracies.

Stay tuned—and thank you for standing with me.

@ 9bde4214:06ca052b

"It's gonna be permissionless or hell."

Gigi and gzuuus are vibing towards dystopia.

Books & articles mentioned:

• AI 2027
• DVMs were a mistake
• Careless People by Sarah Wynn-Williams
• Takedown by Laila michelwait
• The Ultimate Resource by Julian L. Simon
• Harry Potter by J.K. Rowling
• Momo by Michael Ende

In this dialogue:

• Pablo's Roo Setup
• Tech Hype Cycles
• AI 2027
• Prompt injection and other attacks
• Goose and DVMCP
• Cursor vs Roo Code
• Staying in control thanks to Amber and signing delegation
• Is YOLO mode here to stay?
• What agents to trust?
• What MCP tools to trust?
• What code snippets to trust?
• Everyone will run into the issues of trust and micropayments
• Nostr solves Web of Trust & micropayments natively
• Minimalistic & open usually wins
• DVMCP exists thanks to Totem
• Relays as Tamagochis
• Agents aren't nostr experts, at least not right now
• Fix a mistake once & it's fixed forever
• Giving long-term memory to LLMs
• RAG Databases signed by domain experts
• Human-agent hybrids & Chess
• Nostr beating heart
• Pluggable context & experts
• "You never need an API key for anything"
• Sats and social signaling
• Difficulty-adjusted PoW as a rare-limiting mechanism
• Certificate authorities and centralization
• No solutions to policing speech!
• OAuth and how it centralized
• Login with nostr
• Closed vs open-source models
• Tiny models vs large models
• The minions protocol (Stanford paper)
• Generalist models vs specialized models
• Local compute & encrypted queries
• Blinded compute
• "In the eyes of the state, agents aren't people"
• Agents need identity and money; nostr provides both
• "It's gonna be permissionless or hell"
• We already have marketplaces for MCP stuff, code snippets, and other things
• Most great stuff came from marketplaces (browsers, games, etc)
• Zapstore shows that this is already working
• At scale, central control never works. There's plenty scams and viruses in the app stores.
• Using nostr to archive your user-generated content
• HAVEN, blossom, novia
• The switcharoo from advertisements to training data
• What is Truth?
• What is Real?
• "We're vibing into dystopia"
• Who should be the arbiter of Truth?
• First Amendment & why the Logos is sacred
• Silicon Valley AI bros arrogantly dismiss wisdom and philosophy
• Suicide rates & the meaning crisis
• Are LLMs symbiotic or parasitic?
• The Amish got it right
• Are we gonna make it?
• Careless People by Sarah Wynn-Williams
• Takedown by Laila michelwait
• Harry Potter dementors & Momo's time thieves
• Facebook & Google as non-human (superhuman) agents
• Zapping as a conscious action
• Privacy and the internet
• Plausible deniability thanks to generative models
• Google glasses, glassholes, and Meta's Ray Ben's
• People crave realness
• Bitcoin is the realest money we ever had
• Nostr allows for real and honest expression
• How do we find out what's real?
• Constraints, policing, and chilling effects
• Jesus' plans for DVMCP
• Hzrd's article on how DVMs are broken (DVMs were a mistake)
• Don't believe the hype
• DVMs pre-date MCP tools
• Data Vending Machines were supposed to be stupid: put coin in, get stuff out.
• Self-healing vibe-coding
• IP addresses as scarce assets
• Atomic swaps and the ASS protocol
• More marketplaces, less silos
• The intensity of #SovEng and the last 6 weeks
• If you can vibe-code everything, why build anything?
• Time, the ultimate resource
• What are the LLMs allowed to think?
• Natural language interfaces are inherently dialogical
• Sovereign Engineering is dialogical too

@ 91bea5cd:1df4451c

Instruções:

1. Leia cada pergunta cuidadosamente.
2. Escolha a opção (A, B, C ou D) que melhor descreve você na maioria das situações. Seja o mais honesto possível.
3. Anote a letra correspondente à sua escolha para cada pergunta.
4. No final, some quantas vezes você escolheu cada letra (A, B, C, D).
5. Veja a seção de resultados para interpretar sua pontuação.

---

Teste de Temperamento

1. Em um evento social (festa, reunião), como você geralmente se comporta? A) Sou o centro das atenções, converso com todos, faço piadas e animo o ambiente. B) Tomo a iniciativa, organizo atividades ou discussões, e gosto de liderar conversas. C) Prefiro observar, conversar em grupos menores ou com pessoas que já conheço bem, e analiso o ambiente. D) Sou tranquilo, ouvinte, evito chamar atenção e me adapto ao ritmo do grupo.

2. Ao enfrentar um novo projeto ou tarefa desafiadora no trabalho ou estudo: A) Fico entusiasmado com a novidade, tenho muitas ideias iniciais, mas posso me distrair facilmente. B) Defino metas claras, crio um plano de ação rápido e foco em alcançar resultados eficientemente. C) Analiso todos os detalhes, planejo meticulosamente, prevejo possíveis problemas e busco a perfeição. D) Abordo com calma, trabalho de forma constante e organizada, e prefiro um ambiente sem pressão.

3. Como você geralmente reage a críticas? A) Tento levar na esportiva, talvez faça uma piada, mas posso me magoar momentaneamente e logo esqueço. B) Defendo meu ponto de vista vigorosamente, posso ficar irritado se sentir injustiça, mas foco em corrigir o problema. C) Levo muito a sério, analiso profundamente, posso me sentir magoado por um tempo e repenso minhas ações. D) Escuto com calma, considero a crítica objetivamente e tento não levar para o lado pessoal, buscando a paz.

4. Qual seu estilo de tomada de decisão? A) Sou impulsivo, decido rapidamente com base no entusiasmo do momento, às vezes me arrependo depois. B) Sou decidido e rápido, foco no objetivo final, às vezes sem considerar todos os detalhes ou sentimentos alheios. C) Sou ponderado, analiso todas as opções e consequências, demoro para decidir buscando a melhor escolha. D) Sou cauteloso, prefiro evitar decisões difíceis, busco consenso ou adio se possível.

5. Como você lida com rotina e repetição? A) Acho entediante rapidamente, preciso de variedade e novidade constante para me manter engajado. B) Tolero se for necessário para atingir um objetivo, mas prefiro desafios e mudanças que eu controlo. C) Aprecio a ordem e a previsibilidade, me sinto confortável com rotinas bem estabelecidas. D) Adapto-me bem à rotina, acho confortável e seguro, não gosto de mudanças bruscas.

6. Em uma discussão ou conflito: A) Tento aliviar a tensão com humor, expresso meus sentimentos abertamente, mas não guardo rancor. B) Sou direto e assertivo, defendo minha posição com firmeza, posso parecer confrontador. C) Evito confronto direto, mas fico remoendo o problema, analiso os argumentos e posso guardar ressentimento. D) Busco a conciliação, tento entender todos os lados, sou diplomático e evito o conflito a todo custo.

7. Como você expressa seus sentimentos (alegria, tristeza, raiva)? A) Expresso de forma aberta, intensa e visível, minhas emoções mudam rapidamente. B) Expresso de forma direta e forte, principalmente a raiva ou a determinação, controlo emoções "fracas". C) Tendo a internalizar, minhas emoções são profundas e duradouras, posso parecer reservado. D) Sou contido na expressão emocional, mantenho a calma externamente, mesmo que sinta algo internamente.

8. Qual seu nível de energia habitual? A) Alto, sou muito ativo, falante e entusiasmado, gosto de estar em movimento. B) Muito alto e direcionado, tenho muita energia para perseguir meus objetivos e liderar. C) Variável, posso ter picos de energia para projetos que me interessam, mas também preciso de tempo quieto para recarregar. D) Moderado e constante, sou calmo, tranquilo, prefiro atividades menos agitadas.

9. Como você organiza seu espaço de trabalho ou sua casa? A) Pode ser um pouco caótico e desorganizado, com muitas coisas interessantes espalhadas. B) Organizado de forma funcional para máxima eficiência, focado no essencial para as tarefas. C) Extremamente organizado, metódico, cada coisa em seu lugar, prezo pela ordem e estética. D) Confortável e prático, não necessariamente impecável, mas funcional e sem excessos.

10. O que mais te motiva? A) Reconhecimento social, diversão, novas experiências e interações. B) Poder, controle, desafios, alcançar metas ambiciosas e resultados concretos. C) Qualidade, significado, fazer as coisas da maneira certa, compreensão profunda. D) Paz, estabilidade, harmonia nos relacionamentos, evitar estresse e pressão.

11. Como você reage a imprevistos ou mudanças de plano? A) Adapto-me rapidamente, às vezes até gosto da novidade, embora possa atrapalhar meus planos iniciais. B) Fico irritado com a perda de controle, mas rapidamente busco uma solução alternativa para manter o objetivo. C) Sinto-me desconfortável e ansioso, preciso de tempo para reavaliar e replanejar cuidadosamente. D) Aceito com calma, sou flexível e me ajusto sem muito alarde, desde que não gere conflito.

12. Qual o seu maior medo (em termos gerais)? A) Ser rejeitado, ignorado ou ficar entediado. B) Perder o controle, parecer fraco ou incompetente. C) Cometer erros graves, ser inadequado ou imperfeito. D) Conflitos, pressão, tomar decisões erradas que afetem a estabilidade.

13. Como você costuma passar seu tempo livre? A) Socializando, saindo com amigos, buscando atividades novas e divertidas. B) Engajado em atividades produtivas, esportes competitivos, planejando próximos passos. C) Lendo, estudando, refletindo, dedicando-me a hobbies que exigem atenção e cuidado. D) Relaxando em casa, assistindo filmes, lendo tranquilamente, passando tempo com a família de forma calma.

14. Ao trabalhar em equipe: A) Sou o animador, trago ideias, conecto as pessoas, mas posso ter dificuldade em focar nos detalhes. B) Assumo a liderança naturalmente, delego tarefas, foco nos resultados e mantenho todos na linha. C) Sou o planejador e o crítico construtivo, atento aos detalhes, garanto a qualidade, mas posso ser muito exigente. D) Sou o pacificador e o colaborador, ajudo a manter a harmonia, realizo minhas tarefas de forma confiável.

15. Como você lida com prazos? A) Muitas vezes deixo para a última hora, trabalho melhor sob a pressão do prazo final, mas posso me atrapalhar. B) Gosto de terminar bem antes do prazo, vejo o prazo como um desafio a ser superado rapidamente. C) Planejo o tempo cuidadosamente para cumprir o prazo com qualidade, fico ansioso se o tempo fica curto. D) Trabalho em ritmo constante para cumprir o prazo sem estresse, não gosto de correria.

16. Qual destas frases mais te descreve? A) "A vida é uma festa!" B) "Se quer algo bem feito, faça você mesmo (ou mande fazer do seu jeito)." C) "Tudo tem um propósito e um lugar certo." D) "Devagar se vai ao longe."

17. Em relação a regras e procedimentos: A) Gosto de flexibilidade, às vezes acho as regras limitantes e tento contorná-las. B) Uso as regras a meu favor para atingir objetivos, mas não hesito em quebrá-las se necessário e se eu puder controlar as consequências. C) Sigo as regras rigorosamente, acredito que elas garantem ordem e qualidade. D) Respeito as regras para evitar problemas, prefiro seguir o fluxo estabelecido.

18. Como você reage quando alguém está emocionalmente abalado? A) Tento animar a pessoa, conto piadas, ofereço distração e companhia. B) Ofereço soluções práticas para o problema, foco em resolver a situação que causou o abalo. C) Escuto com empatia, ofereço apoio profundo e tento compreender a dor da pessoa. D) Mantenho a calma, ofereço um ouvido atento e um ombro amigo, sem me deixar abalar muito.

19. Que tipo de filme ou livro você prefere? A) Comédias, aventuras, romances leves, algo que me divirta e me mantenha entretido. B) Ação, suspense, biografias de líderes, estratégias, algo que me desafie ou inspire poder. C) Dramas profundos, documentários, mistérios complexos, ficção científica filosófica, algo que me faça pensar e sentir. D) Histórias tranquilas, dramas familiares, romances amenos, natureza, algo que me relaxe e traga conforto.

20. O que é mais importante para você em um relacionamento (amizade, amoroso)? A) Diversão, cumplicidade, comunicação aberta e espontaneidade. B) Lealdade, objetivos em comum, apoio mútuo nas ambições. C) Compreensão profunda, fidelidade, apoio emocional e intelectual. D) Harmonia, estabilidade, aceitação mútua e tranquilidade.

21. Se você ganhasse na loteria, qual seria sua primeira reação/ação? A) Faria uma grande festa, viajaria pelo mundo, compraria presentes para todos! B) Investiria estrategicamente, planejaria como multiplicar o dinheiro, garantiria o controle financeiro. C) Pesquisaria as melhores opções de investimento, faria um plano detalhado de longo prazo, doaria para causas significativas. D) Guardaria a maior parte em segurança, faria algumas melhorias práticas na vida, evitaria mudanças drásticas.

22. Como você se sente em relação a riscos? A) Gosto de arriscar se a recompensa parecer divertida ou excitante, sou otimista. B) Calculo os riscos e assumo-os se acreditar que a recompensa vale a pena e que posso controlar a situação. C) Evito riscos desnecessários, prefiro a segurança e a previsibilidade, analiso tudo antes de agir. D) Desgosto de riscos, prefiro caminhos seguros e comprovados, a estabilidade é mais importante.

23. Sua memória tende a focar mais em: A) Momentos divertidos, pessoas interessantes, experiências marcantes (embora possa esquecer detalhes). B) Sucessos, fracassos (para aprender), injustiças cometidas contra você, quem te ajudou ou atrapalhou. C) Detalhes precisos, conversas significativas, erros cometidos (por você ou outros), sentimentos profundos. D) Fatos objetivos, rotinas, informações práticas, geralmente de forma neutra.

24. Quando aprende algo novo, você prefere: A) Experimentar na prática imediatamente, aprender fazendo, mesmo que cometa erros. B) Entender o objetivo e a aplicação prática rapidamente, focar no essencial para usar o conhecimento. C) Estudar a fundo a teoria, entender todos os porquês, buscar fontes confiáveis e dominar o assunto. D) Aprender em um ritmo calmo, com instruções claras e passo a passo, sem pressão.

25. Se descreva em uma palavra (escolha a que mais se aproxima): A) Entusiasmado(a) B) Determinado(a) C) Criterioso(a) D) Pacífico(a)

26. Como você lida com o silêncio em uma conversa? A) Sinto-me desconfortável e tento preenchê-lo rapidamente com qualquer assunto. B) Uso o silêncio estrategicamente ou o interrompo para direcionar a conversa. C) Posso apreciar o silêncio para refletir, ou me sentir um pouco ansioso dependendo do contexto. D) Sinto-me confortável com o silêncio, não sinto necessidade de preenchê-lo.

27. O que te deixa mais frustrado(a)? A) Tédio, falta de reconhecimento, ser ignorado. B) Incompetência alheia, falta de controle, obstáculos aos seus planos. C) Desorganização, falta de qualidade, injustiça, superficialidade. D) Conflitos interpessoais, pressão excessiva, desordem emocional.

28. Qual a sua relação com o passado, presente e futuro? A) Foco no presente e nas oportunidades imediatas, otimista em relação ao futuro, esqueço o passado facilmente. B) Foco no futuro (metas) e no presente (ações para alcançá-las), aprendo com o passado mas não me prendo a ele. C) Reflito muito sobre o passado (aprendizados, erros), analiso o presente e planejo o futuro com cautela, às vezes com preocupação. D) Vivo o presente de forma tranquila, valorizo a estabilidade e a continuidade do passado, vejo o futuro com serenidade.

29. Se você tivesse que organizar um evento, qual seria seu papel principal? A) Relações públicas, divulgação, animação, garantir que todos se divirtam. B) Coordenação geral, definição de metas, delegação de tarefas, garantir que tudo aconteça conforme o planejado (por você). C) Planejamento detalhado, logística, controle de qualidade, garantir que nada dê errado. D) Suporte, resolução de problemas de forma calma, garantir um ambiente harmonioso.

30. Qual ambiente de trabalho te agrada mais? A) Dinâmico, social, com muita interação, flexibilidade e novidades. B) Competitivo, desafiador, focado em resultados, onde eu possa liderar ou ter autonomia. C) Estruturado, quieto, onde eu possa me concentrar, com padrões claros de qualidade e tempo para análise. D) Estável, cooperativo, sem pressão, com relacionamentos harmoniosos e tarefas previsíveis.

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Calculando seus Resultados:

Agora, conte quantas vezes você escolheu cada letra:

• Total de A: ______
• Total de B: ______
• Total de C: ______
• Total de D: ______

A letra (ou as letras) com a maior pontuação indica(m) seu(s) temperamento(s) dominante(s).

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Interpretação dos Resultados:

• Se sua maior pontuação foi A: Temperamento SANGUÍNEO Dominante

  • Características: Você é extrovertido, otimista, sociável, comunicativo, entusiasmado e adora novidades. Gosta de ser o centro das atenções, faz amigos facilmente e contagia os outros com sua energia. É criativo e espontâneo.
  • Pontos Fortes: Carismático, inspirador, adaptável, bom em iniciar relacionamentos e projetos, perdoa facilmente.
  • Desafios Potenciais: Pode ser indisciplinado, desorganizado, impulsivo, superficial, ter dificuldade em focar e terminar tarefas, e ser muito dependente de aprovação externa.

• Se sua maior pontuação foi B: Temperamento COLÉRICO Dominante

  • Características: Você é enérgico, decidido, líder nato, orientado para metas e resultados. É ambicioso, assertivo, direto e não tem medo de desafios ou confrontos. Gosta de estar no controle e é muito prático.
  • Pontos Fortes: Determinado, eficiente, líder natural, bom em tomar decisões e resolver problemas, autoconfiante.
  • Desafios Potenciais: Pode ser impaciente, dominador, teimoso, insensível aos sentimentos alheios, propenso à raiva e a "atropelar" os outros para atingir seus objetivos.

• Se sua maior pontuação foi C: Temperamento MELANCÓLICO Dominante

  • Características: Você é introvertido, analítico, sensível, perfeccionista e profundo. É leal, dedicado, aprecia a beleza e a ordem. Tende a ser pensativo, criterioso e busca significado em tudo. Leva as coisas a sério.
  • Pontos Fortes: Detalhista, organizado, criativo (em profundidade), leal, empático, comprometido com a qualidade e a justiça.
  • Desafios Potenciais: Pode ser pessimista, excessivamente crítico (consigo e com os outros), indeciso (pela análise excessiva), guardar ressentimentos, ser propenso à tristeza e ao isolamento.

• Se sua maior pontuação foi D: Temperamento FLEUMÁTICO Dominante

  • Características: Você é calmo, tranquilo, equilibrado e diplomático. É observador, paciente, confiável e fácil de conviver. Evita conflitos, busca harmonia e estabilidade. É um bom ouvinte e trabalha bem sob rotina.
  • Pontos Fortes: Pacífico, estável, confiável, bom ouvinte, diplomático, eficiente em tarefas rotineiras, mantém a calma sob pressão.
  • Desafios Potenciais: Pode ser indeciso, procrastinador, resistente a mudanças, parecer apático ou sem entusiasmo, ter dificuldade em se impor e expressar suas próprias necessidades.

Combinações de Temperamentos:

É muito comum ter pontuações altas em duas letras. Isso indica uma combinação de temperamentos. Por exemplo:

• Sanguíneo-Colérico: Extrovertido, enérgico, líder carismático, mas pode ser impulsivo e dominador.
• Sanguíneo-Fleumático: Sociável e agradável, mas pode ter dificuldade com disciplina e iniciativa.
• Colérico-Melancólico: Líder focado e detalhista, muito capaz, mas pode ser excessivamente crítico e exigente.
• Melancólico-Fleumático: Quieto, confiável, analítico, mas pode ser indeciso e resistente a riscos.

Importante: Este teste é uma ferramenta de autoconhecimento. Ninguém se encaixa perfeitamente em uma única caixa. Use os resultados para entender melhor suas tendências naturais, seus pontos fortes e as áreas onde você pode buscar equilíbrio e desenvolvimento.

@ e4950c93:1b99eccd

Joha est une marque danoise qui crée des vêtements en laine mérinos, coton biologique, viscose de bambou biologique et soie pour les bébés, les enfants et les femmes.

Matières naturelles utilisées dans les produits

• Coton (biologique)
• Laine (mérinos)
• Soie
• Cellulose régénérée (cupra, lyocell, modal, rayonne, viscose) (bambou biologique)

⚠️ Attention, certains produits de cette marque contiennent des matières non naturelles, dont : - Elasthanne, lycra, spandex - Polyamides, nylon

Catégories de produits proposés

Cette marque propose des produits intégralement en matière naturelle dans les catégories suivantes :

Vêtements

• Tailles vêtements: bébés, enfants, femmes
• Sous-vêtements: culottes
• Une pièce:
• Hauts: débardeurs, t-shirts
• Bas: pantalons, leggings
• Tête et mains: bonnets, cagoules, moufles
• Nuit: pyjamas

Chaussures

• Tailles chaussures: chaussures bébé
• Chaussons: botillons

Autres informations

• Certification Oeko-Tex Standard 100
• Certification Woolmark
• Déclaration de laine de mouton sans mulesing et de bien-être animal (Südwolle group GmbH)

👉 En savoir plus sur le site de la marque

Où trouver leurs produits ?

• Luna & Curious (en anglais, zone de livraison : RU et international)
• Niddle Noddle (en anglais, zone de livraison : RU et international)
• Chlidren Salon (en anglais, zone de livraison : RU et international)
• Lieblings Paris

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Cet article est publié sur origine-nature.com 🌐 See this article in English

📝 Tu peux contribuer à cette fiche en suggérant une modification en commentaire.

🗣️ Tu utilises les produits de cette marque ? Partage ton avis en commentaire.

⚡ Heureu-x-se de trouver cette information ? Soutiens le projet en faisant un don, pour remercier les contribut-eur-ice-s.

@ d9e9fb27:d5fe5e1a

"There are two pillars in Costa Rica, education and coffee." A tourist guide I met told me this, and during the trip I discovered the strong link between coffee and the locals.

In fact, coffee runs very deeply in the Ticos' culture. So deep that the summer vacations from school (November to January) coincide with the coffee collection season. Children had to help their parents with the coffee. Coffee was a family business.

Monteverde, in the region of Puentarenas, is one of those places where coffee ha always been a corner stone of the society. Here, My gf and I went to visit a coffee plantation and discovered how coffee is made.

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Monteverde

Monteverde is a well-known turistic location in the central part of Costa Rica. Many people reach this beautiful place to visit the famous Cloud Rainforest, acres and acres of pristine forest, with many different kind of animals and plants living in it.

However, other than tourism is coffee that pushes the economy of this place. The hills around the town are covered with coffee plantations and there are tours than try to explain how coffee is made.

Coffee Tours

While we were in Monteverde, we joined one of these tours. We decided to give credit to a smaller plantation instead of the super turistic ones. A more rustic and family-owned business, El Pueblo Coffee Tour. We were not disappointed. We had the show all to ourselves, a super-prepared guide and all the time to make questions and enjoy with no rush.

The Plant of Coffee

Since Costa Rica is a quite small country, to compete on the market producers decided to bet on quality instead of quantity. That's why, the only type produced here is the Arabica.

Before the coffee bean, the plant produces a nice white flower, similar to the jasmine.

After a while, the coffee beans appear.

As soon as they turn red, they are ready to be collected.

Interesting fact: between the coffee plants many fruit trees like mangos or bananos can be found. In fact, those plants help keep the soil fertile and healthy, thus leading to a higher coffee quality!

Coffee Harvesting

Coffee is still harvested by hand. Beans do not get mature at the same time, so manual labor is needed. Laborer use a very simple tool to collect coffee, one which allow them to have both hands free.

Workers do not get paid by hours, but by the number of cajuelas that they can fill. A cajuela is a standard box, which contains around 13kg of beans. It's divided into quarters, so that the worker can get paid for the quarter, too.

Each cajuela is paid around 3.50$.

Coffee Drying

In the farm we visited, drying was perfomed naturally, through the heat of the sun. There are three ways in which the bean is left to dry: lavado, miel and naturàl.

• Lavado: The beans are peeled and washed to remove the jelly.

- Miel: The jelly on the beans is maintained to give it more sweet flavour.

- Naturàl: The bean is left to dry with its peel on, to give it a more fruity taste.

Back in the days, to peel the beans for the lavado and the miel variety, the pìlon was used. The bean is very hard, thus this tool does not damage it.

However, today the peeling procedure is done using a machine.

Coffee Roasting

The last step in the production of coffee is roasting. Coffee is put inside a sort of hoven, and is left there at high temperature according to the level of roasting that is needed. The more roasting, the less caffeine there is and the more bitter the coffee. Usually you have light, medium and dark roast.

Coffee Tasting

In the end, we also had a coffee tasting. We tried different roasting and different varieties.

Our guide explained us the best way to taste coffee and helped us defining the different flavours that we perceived. He also taught us the best way to prepare it: infusion time, water temperature, coffe makers and so on.

My favorite one was the dark one, while my gf enjoyed the light roast more. Of course, we bought some packs of these varieties!

---

Thanks for tuning in!

I hope you enjoyed this brief overview of the Costa Rican coffee.

Pura Vida

Tuma

@ 266815e0:6cd408a5

Its been a little over a year since NIP-90 was written and merged into the nips repo and its been a communication mess.

Every DVM implementation expects the inputs in slightly different formats, returns the results in mostly the same format and there are very few DVM actually running.

NIP-90 is overloaded

Why does a request for text translation and creating bitcoin OP_RETURNs share the same input i tag? and why is there an output tag on requests when only one of them will return an output?

Each DVM request kind is for requesting completely different types of compute with diffrent input and output requirements, but they are all using the same spec that has 4 different types of inputs (text, url, event, job) and an undefined number of output types.

Let me show a few random DVM requests and responses I found on wss://relay.damus.io to demonstrate what I mean:

This is a request to translate an event to English json { "kind": 5002, "content": "", "tags": [ // NIP-90 says there can be multiple inputs, so how would a DVM handle translatting multiple events at once? [ "i", "<event-id>", "event" ], [ "param", "language", "en" ], // What other type of output would text translations be? image/jpeg? [ "output", "text/plain" ], // Do we really need to define relays? cant the DVM respond on the relays it saw the request on? [ "relays", "wss://relay.unknown.cloud/", "wss://nos.lol/" ] ] }

This is a request to generate text using an LLM model json { "kind": 5050, // Why is the content empty? wouldn't it be better to have the prompt in the content? "content": "", "tags": [ // Why use an indexable tag? are we ever going to lookup prompts? // Also the type "prompt" isn't in NIP-90, this should probably be "text" [ "i", "What is the capital of France?", "prompt" ], [ "p", "c4878054cff877f694f5abecf18c7450f4b6fdf59e3e9cb3e6505a93c4577db2" ], [ "relays", "wss://relay.primal.net" ] ] }

This is a request for content recommendation json { "kind": 5300, "content": "", "tags": [ // Its fine ignoring this param, but what if the client actually needs exactly 200 "results" [ "param", "max_results", "200" ], // The spec never mentions requesting content for other users. // If a DVM didn't understand this and responded to this request it would provide bad data [ "param", "user", "b22b06b051fd5232966a9344a634d956c3dc33a7f5ecdcad9ed11ddc4120a7f2" ], [ "relays", "wss://relay.primal.net", ], [ "p", "ceb7e7d688e8a704794d5662acb6f18c2455df7481833dd6c384b65252455a95" ] ] }

This is a request to create a OP_RETURN message on bitcoin json { "kind": 5901, // Again why is the content empty when we are sending human readable text? "content": "", "tags": [ // and again, using an indexable tag on an input that will never need to be looked up ["i", "09/01/24 SEC Chairman on the brink of second ETF approval", "text"] ] }

My point isn't that these event schema's aren't understandable but why are they using the same schema? each use-case is different but are they all required to use the same i tag format as input and could support all 4 types of inputs.

Lack of libraries

With all these different types of inputs, params, and outputs its verify difficult if not impossible to build libraries for DVMs

If a simple text translation request can have an event or text as inputs, a payment-required status at any point in the flow, partial results, or responses from 10+ DVMs whats the best way to build a translation library for other nostr clients to use?

And how do I build a DVM framework for the server side that can handle multiple inputs of all four types (url, text, event, job) and clients are sending all the requests in slightly differently.

Supporting payments is impossible

The way NIP-90 is written there isn't much details about payments. only a payment-required status and a generic amount tag

But the way things are now every DVM is implementing payments differently. some send a bolt11 invoice, some expect the client to NIP-57 zap the request event (or maybe the status event), and some even ask for a subscription. and we haven't even started implementing NIP-61 nut zaps or cashu A few are even formatting the amount number wrong or denominating it in sats and not mili-sats

Building a client or a library that can understand and handle all of these payment methods is very difficult. for the DVM server side its worse. A DVM server presumably needs to support all 4+ types of payments if they want to get the most sats for their services and support the most clients.

All of this is made even more complicated by the fact that a DVM can ask for payment at any point during the job process. this makes sense for some types of compute, but for others like translations or user recommendation / search it just makes things even more complicated.

For example, If a client wanted to implement a timeline page that showed the notes of all the pubkeys on a recommended list. what would they do when the selected DVM asks for payment at the start of the job? or at the end? or worse, only provides half the pubkeys and asks for payment for the other half. building a UI that could handle even just two of these possibilities is complicated.

NIP-89 is being abused

NIP-89 is "Recommended Application Handlers" and the way its describe in the nips repo is

a way to discover applications that can handle unknown event-kinds

Not "a way to discover everything"

If I wanted to build an application discovery app to show all the apps that your contacts use and let you discover new apps then it would have to filter out ALL the DVM advertisement events. and that's not just for making requests from relays

If the app shows the user their list of "recommended applications" then it either has to understand that everything in the 5xxx kind range is a DVM and to show that is its own category or show a bunch of unknown "favorites" in the list which might be confusing for the user.

In conclusion

My point in writing this article isn't that the DVMs implementations so far don't work, but that they will never work well because the spec is too broad. even with only a few DVMs running we have already lost interoperability.

I don't want to be completely negative though because some things have worked. the "DVM feeds" work, although they are limited to a single page of results. text / event translations also work well and kind 5970 Event PoW delegation could be cool. but if we want interoperability, we are going to need to change a few things with NIP-90

I don't think we can (or should) abandon NIP-90 entirely but it would be good to break it up into small NIPs or specs. break each "kind" of DVM request out into its own spec with its own definitions for expected inputs, outputs and flow.

Then if we have simple, clean definitions for each kind of compute we want to distribute. we might actually see markets and services being built and used.

@ b423e216:3280b1c0

Im digitalen Zeitalter wird der Schutz der Privatsphäre immer wichtiger. Unabhängig davon, ob es sich um eine Regierungsbehörde, ein Unternehmen oder eine Einzelperson handelt, besteht für alle das Risiko, abgehört oder verfolgt zu werden. Mobiltelefone, WLAN, GPS und UHF-Geräte (Ultrahochfrequenz) können zu Werkzeugen für Hacker oder Überwachungsgeräte werden. Um diesen Bedrohungen entgegenzuwirken, sind Signalstörsender (wie etwa Tragbare Handyblocker, WLAN-Störsender, GPS-Störsender und UHF-Störsender) zu einem wirksamen Mittel zum Schutz der Privatsphäre geworden. In diesem Artikel werden die verschiedenen Arten von Störsendern erläutert, wie sie funktionieren und wie man sie legal und angemessen einsetzt, um Abhören und Tracking zu verhindern.

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1. Was ist ein Signalstörsender?

Ein Signalstörsender ist ein elektronisches Gerät, das die Kommunikationssignale eines Zielgeräts durch die Aussendung von Radiowellen einer bestimmten Frequenz stört oder blockiert. Es kann Mobiltelefonanrufe, WLAN-Verbindungen, GPS-Positionierung oder UHF-Signalübertragungen blockieren, um Abhören oder Tracking zu verhindern.

Das Funktionsprinzip eines Störsenders besteht darin, ein Rauschsignal mit hoher Intensität an das Zielfrequenzband zu senden, wodurch es für das empfangende Gerät unmöglich wird, das ursprüngliche Signal richtig zu interpretieren. Beispielsweise blockiert ein Handy-Störsender die Kommunikation zwischen einem Handy und einer Basisstation, sodass mit dem Handy weder Anrufe getätigt noch Textnachrichten empfangen werden können.

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2. Gängige Arten von Signalstörern

(1) Handy-Störsender

Tragbare störsender für handy werden hauptsächlich verwendet, um GSM-, 3G UMTS-, 4G- und 5G-Signale zu blockieren. Es kann verhindern, dass das Telefon überwacht oder geortet wird und eignet sich für die folgenden Szenarien:

• Abhören verhindern: Verhindern Sie, dass das Mikrofon Ihres Telefons während wichtiger Besprechungen oder privater Gespräche aus der Ferne aktiviert wird.
• Anti-Tracking: Blockieren Sie die GPS- und Mobilfunknetzortung, um die Verfolgung durch Malware oder Hacker zu verhindern.
• Prävention von Prüfungsbetrug: Wird in Schulen oder Prüfungssälen verwendet, um zu verhindern, dass Kandidaten mit Mobiltelefonen schummeln.

(2) WLAN-Störsender

WLAN-Störsender können drahtlose Netzwerksignale in den Frequenzbändern 2,4 GHz und 5 GHz blockieren und eignen sich für:

• Hacking verhindern: Blockieren Sie WLAN-Signale in der Nähe, um Datendiebstahl zu verhindern.
• Smart-Home-Geräte schützen: Verhindern Sie die Fernsteuerung von Smart-Kameras, Lautsprechern und anderen Geräten.
• Militärische oder staatliche vertrauliche Bereiche: Verhindern Sie, dass durch drahtlose Signale vertrauliche Informationen preisgegeben werden.

(3) GPS-Störsender

GPS-Störsender können Satellitenpositionierungssignale blockieren, um die Verfolgung von Fahrzeugen oder Mobiltelefonen zu verhindern. Sie eignen sich für:

• Schützen Sie Ihre Privatsphäre: Verhindern Sie, dass Mitfahrdienste, Essenslieferdienste oder Malware Ihren Aufenthaltsort aufzeichnen.
• Militärische Nutzung: Verhindern, dass Drohnen oder Raketen für ihren Angriff auf GPS-Navigation angewiesen sind.
• Anti-Aufklärung: Verhindern Sie Wirtschaftsspionage oder die Verfolgung von Logistikfahrzeugen durch Wettbewerber.

(4) UHF-Störsender

UHF Jammer (Ultra High Frequency) werden hauptsächlich verwendet, um drahtlose Kommunikation im Frequenzband von 300 MHz bis 3 GHz zu blockieren, wie z. B. Walkie-Talkies, drahtlose Mikrofone, RFID usw. und eignen sich für:

• Verhindern Sie drahtloses Abhören: Blockieren Sie drahtlose Abhörgeräte, die von Spionen verwendet werden.
• RFID-Daten schützen: Verhindern Sie das illegale Scannen von Kreditkarten oder Zugangskarten.
• Anti-Drohnen-Störsender: Blockiert die Fernbedienungssignale von Drohnen, um zu verhindern, dass sie sich sensiblen Bereichen nähern.

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3. Wie verwendet man Signalstörsender richtig, um die Privatsphäre zu schützen?

Obwohl Störsender das Abhören und Verfolgen wirksam verhindern können, kann eine unsachgemäße Verwendung gegen das Gesetz verstoßen oder die normale Kommunikation beeinträchtigen. Hier sind einige Vorschläge für den legalen und sinnvollen Einsatz von Störsendern:

(1) Verstehen Sie die örtlichen Gesetze

• In vielen Ländern ist die unbefugte Verwendung von Störsendern illegal und kann zu Geldstrafen oder strafrechtlichen Konsequenzen führen.
• Nur zur Verwendung im privaten Bereich oder dort, wo dies gesetzlich zulässig ist, z. B. beim Militär, in der Regierung oder bei der Unternehmenssicherheit.

(2) Wählen Sie den entsprechenden Störbereich

• WLAN Signal Blocker mit geringer Leistung eignen sich für kleine Besprechungsräume oder Fahrzeuge, um die Kommunikation in der Umgebung nicht zu beeinträchtigen.
• In großen Veranstaltungsorten können Störsender mit hoher Leistung eingesetzt werden, dabei ist jedoch Vorsicht geboten, um die öffentliche Kommunikation nicht zu stören.

(3) Kombiniert mit anderen Sicherheitsmaßnahmen

• Störsender sind nur eine vorübergehende Lösung. Für einen langfristigen Schutz der Privatsphäre ist die Verwendung verschlüsselter Kommunikation, VPNs, Abhörgeräte usw. erforderlich.

(4) Regelmäßige Überprüfung der Ausrüstung

• Störsender können aufgrund von Änderungen der Signalstärke unwirksam werden und müssen regelmäßig getestet und angepasst werden.

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4. Einschränkungen von Störsendern

Obwohl Störsender Signale wirksam blockieren können, unterliegen sie dennoch einigen Einschränkungen:

• Verhindert kein kabelgebundenes Abhören: Störsender wirken nur gegen drahtlose Signale und schützen nicht vor physischen Abhörgeräten (wie versteckten Mikrofonen).
• Kann legitime Kommunikation beeinträchtigen: Störsender blockieren wahllos Signale, was Notrufe oder die normale WLAN-Nutzung beeinträchtigen kann.
• Kann durch Anti-Jamming-Technologie geknackt werden: Einige fortschrittliche Geräte verwenden möglicherweise Frequenzsprungtechnologie (z. B. militärische Kommunikation), die von gewöhnlichen Störsendern nur schwer vollständig blockiert werden kann.

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5. Alternativen: Sicherere Methoden zum Schutz der Privatsphäre

Wenn der Einsatz von Auto GPS Tracker Störsender eingeschränkt ist, ziehen Sie die folgenden Alternativen in Betracht:

• Verwenden Sie einen Faradayschen Käfig: Eine metallische Abschirmhülle oder ein Raum, der drahtlose Signale vollständig blockiert.
• Flugmodus aktivieren: Durch das Ausschalten der drahtlosen Mobiltelefonkommunikation wird die Fernaktivierung des Mikrofons verhindert.
• Verwenden Sie verschlüsselte Kommunikationstools: z. B. Anwendungen mit End-to-End-Verschlüsselung wie Signal, ProtonMail usw.

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abschließend

Ein Signalstörsender ist ein leistungsstarkes Tool zum Schutz der Privatsphäre, das das Abhören von Mobiltelefonen, WLAN-Hacking, GPS-Tracking und UHF-Überwachung wirksam verhindern kann. Allerdings ist die Verwendung gesetzlich eingeschränkt und sollte mit Vorsicht verwendet werden. Durch die Kombination von Störsendern mit anderen Sicherheitsmaßnahmen (wie verschlüsselter Kommunikation und physischer Abschirmung) kann die Privatsphäre im Rahmen des gesetzlich Gegebenen weitestgehend vor Verletzungen geschützt werden. Mit der Entwicklung von Technologien zum Abhören von Störsendern könnten diese in Zukunft intelligenter und präziser werden und sich zu einem wichtigen Mittel zum Schutz der Privatsphäre entwickeln.

1. https://www.signaljammerphone.com/de/echte-gefahren-durch-versteckte-kameras-und-ein-leitfaden-zur-abwehr.html
2. https://www.signaljammerphone.com/de/J-DR6-leistungsstarker-tragbare-rucksack-drohnen-fernsteuerungs-stoerer-300W.html
3. https://www.signaljammerphone.com/de/wie-kann-man-funkwellen-wirksam-blockieren-funkwellenabschirmung-und-stoertechnologie.html

@ 94215f42:7681f622

Value Creation at the Edge

The conversation around artificial intelligence has largely centered on the technology itself, the capabilities of large language models, the race for more parameters, and the competition between AI companies.

He with the most data / biggest model / biggest platform wins all.

As we're been exploring in recent "Good Stuff" podcasts, the true business model of AI may be much more straightforward. AI is after all a productivity tool with little technical moat, in fact the existence of AI coding and learning tools quickly chop away at this moat even quicker!.\ \ We believe that the it's about transforming traditional human heavy businesses by dramatically reducing operational costs while maintaining or increasing output.

AI is poised to create value not primarily for AI companies themselves, but for businesses that effectively implement AI to transform their operations, particularly small, local businesses that can become extraordinarily efficient through AI adoption.

The Value Shift: From AI Companies to AI-Enabled Traditional Businesses

A central insight from episode 1 of the podcast series, is that the value of AI isn't likely to accrue primarily to companies like OpenAI or other AI technology providers. Instead, the real winners will be traditional service businesses that can leverage AI to transform their operations and cost structures.

"I think we're gonna see this shift to traditional service businesses... that traditionally have pretty fixed low margins because of a dependency on language-heavy workflows that require a lot of humans as the medium of intelligence in the business."

The opportunity here is to use AI to manage the language dependency and shift the moments of intelligence, that currently exist in the heads of our staff, into software that can run 24x7 for fractions of a cost.\ \ The real limiting factor here is less a magic AGI, but instead detailed thinking and process redesign to move humans to the edge of the process. As it turns out if we think through what each person is doing in detail we see the specific decisions, outputs, moments of intelligence are actually quite constrained and can be replicated in LLM's if we break them down to a low enough level of fidelity and take each decisions one step at a time.\ \ The result? Businesses that have traditionally operated with fixed, low margins can potentially achieve "software-style margins" by dramatically reducing their operational expenses.

Transforming Traditional Service Businesses

We have developed three key heuristics for identifying businesses that could benefit most from AI transformation:

1. Language Intensity: Businesses where much of the work involves processing language (reading, writing, communicating). Language in, language out. If you are sat in a chair and typing all day, this could be you.

2. Labor Component: Where we see this language intensity so we find many people performing similar, standardized roles. For examples, if we have four people in the same role this is a big clue we have good process, checklists, role descriptions etc for how the work can be done in order to replicate work across multiple people.

3. Load in the Business: Taking these processes into account, what amount of the operational expense of the business do they represent? Where these language and labor-intensive operations represent a significant portion of the business cost, we can see there will be significant return.

Traditional service businesses that match these criteria—legal firms, accounting practices, consulting agencies, contract engineering, design agencies and others—could see dramatic transformations through AI implementation.

By automating these language-heavy processes, businesses can potentially reduce operational costs by 50-80% while maintaining similar levels of output.

The Power of Small

We believe that small businesses may have an inherent advantage in this transformation. While large enterprises face significant barriers to reducing their workforce (political pressure, media scrutiny, organizational complexity), smaller businesses can adapt more quickly and focus on growth rather than just cost-cutting.

If I'm in a 20,000 person business and I need to remove 10,000 people... that's hard. You can't do this without sending political shock waves in your local community.

If I'm a 10 person business and I need to double my revenue, nobody gives a shit. I can just do it.

For small businesses, AI removes growth constraints. When adding the "21st person" no longer represents a significant capital investment, small businesses can scale much more efficiently:

If the next nominal client that you onboard doesn't actually cause you any more additional pain, if you don't need to hire more people to service that client... you just take off the brakes off from a growth perspective.

This gives small business a unique advantage in capitalizing on AI.

From "Bionic Humans" to "Humans at the Edge"

We currently see this integration to business happening in one of two models:

1. The Bionic Human: Equipping workers with AI tools to make them more productive.

2. Human at the Edge: Redesigning processes to be AI-native, with humans entering the process only when needed (and often facilitated by bitcoin payments).

While many businesses are focused on the first approach and it can certainly see returns, it is still a process constrained by the human input. The real value unlock comes from fundamentally redesigning business processes with AI at the core.

Now we can purchase intelligence in buckets of $0.02 API calls, how would we operate different?

This represents a profound shift in how we think about work and processes. Rather than humans being central to processes with tools supporting them, AI becomes the backbone of operations with humans providing input only at critical junctures.

This is "a complete mental shift" that challenges our fundamental assumptions about how businesses operate. The human becomes "the interface with the real world" for AI systems rather than the primary processor of information and decision-maker.

The Value Trap: Understanding the Competitive Dynamic

So what happens next? Here we have developed the concept of the Value Trap to explain how the competitive landscape will evolve as AI adoption increases..\ \

Initially, early adopters of AI and "Human at the Edge" business processes, will see dramatic benefits.

If your costs have dropped from 90 to 20 this creates an immediate competitive advantage where the early adopter is "now making 80 units of profit versus your 10 units of profit.

They gain massive pricing power in the industry and can compete for growth with an unfair advantage.

Over time, and here we believe this is likely a 5-10 year period although we believe the quicker side, competitive pressures will erode these advantages.\ \ As competitors adopt similar AI strategies, price competition will intensify, and revenues will decline. The business that initially saw its costs drop from 90 to 20 units might see its revenue decline from 100 to 30 units, resulting in similar margins but much lower overall revenue, often destroying the enterprise value of the company at these new revenue / profit levels!

This evolution creates an imperative for businesses to adopt AI early, not just to maintain perpetual advantage, but simply to survive the transition. Worse they're hit with a second challenge of the value trap, how do I keep hold of the value I generate along the way.\ \ If you're reading this on Nostr you may already suspect a way out of this value trap.\ \ If not I would invite you to consider storing the immediate short term returns you pull forwards in something that would be inflation resistant, hard to seize and ideally portable.\ \ We refer to this as a 'The big orange arbitrage".

Implications for Business Owners and Capital Allocators

For business owners, especially those running small to medium-sized enterprises, the message is clear: understand how AI could transform your industry and begin planning your transition now.\ \ This might involve creating an "AI-native twin" of your current business—similar to how Netflix developed streaming alongside its DVD business—to eventually replace your current operations. If you want help please ask, I heavily favor more small businesses in the world and would love to help make this a reality.

For capital allocation, the emerging opportunity we see if in "transformation led private equity". The acquisition of traditional service businesses and applying AI to dramatically reduce operational costs and increase enterprise value.\ \ This approach treats AI not as a product but as a transformation strategy for existing businesses with proven product-market fit.

Transformation led PE is venture style returns without the risk of product market fit.

So the lesson?

The business model of AI isn't all about selling AI technology, adding a RAG chatbot to a new DB or collecting everyone's data.\ \ Consider the humble cash flow business, use AI to transform the operational processes and save into everyone's favorite orange coin.

@ 91bea5cd:1df4451c

Básico

bash lsblk # Lista todos os diretorios montados.

Para criar o sistema de arquivos:

bash mkfs.btrfs -L "ThePool" -f /dev/sdx

Criando um subvolume:

bash btrfs subvolume create SubVol

Montando Sistema de Arquivos:

bash mount -o compress=zlib,subvol=SubVol,autodefrag /dev/sdx /mnt

Lista os discos formatados no diretório:

bash btrfs filesystem show /mnt

Adiciona novo disco ao subvolume:

bash btrfs device add -f /dev/sdy /mnt

Lista novamente os discos do subvolume:

bash btrfs filesystem show /mnt

Exibe uso dos discos do subvolume:

bash btrfs filesystem df /mnt

Balancea os dados entre os discos sobre raid1:

bash btrfs filesystem balance start -dconvert=raid1 -mconvert=raid1 /mnt

Scrub é uma passagem por todos os dados e metadados do sistema de arquivos e verifica as somas de verificação. Se uma cópia válida estiver disponível (perfis de grupo de blocos replicados), a danificada será reparada. Todas as cópias dos perfis replicados são validadas.

iniciar o processo de depuração :

bash btrfs scrub start /mnt

ver o status do processo de depuração Btrfs em execução:

bash btrfs scrub status /mnt

ver o status do scrub Btrfs para cada um dos dispositivos

bash btrfs scrub status -d / data btrfs scrub cancel / data

Para retomar o processo de depuração do Btrfs que você cancelou ou pausou:

btrfs scrub resume / data

Listando os subvolumes:

bash btrfs subvolume list /Reports

Criando um instantâneo dos subvolumes:

Aqui, estamos criando um instantâneo de leitura e gravação chamado snap de marketing do subvolume de marketing.

bash btrfs subvolume snapshot /Reports/marketing /Reports/marketing-snap

Além disso, você pode criar um instantâneo somente leitura usando o sinalizador -r conforme mostrado. O marketing-rosnap é um instantâneo somente leitura do subvolume de marketing

bash btrfs subvolume snapshot -r /Reports/marketing /Reports/marketing-rosnap

Forçar a sincronização do sistema de arquivos usando o utilitário 'sync'

Para forçar a sincronização do sistema de arquivos, invoque a opção de sincronização conforme mostrado. Observe que o sistema de arquivos já deve estar montado para que o processo de sincronização continue com sucesso.

bash btrfs filsystem sync /Reports

Para excluir o dispositivo do sistema de arquivos, use o comando device delete conforme mostrado.

bash btrfs device delete /dev/sdc /Reports

Para sondar o status de um scrub, use o comando scrub status com a opção -dR .

bash btrfs scrub status -dR / Relatórios

Para cancelar a execução do scrub, use o comando scrub cancel .

bash $ sudo btrfs scrub cancel / Reports

Para retomar ou continuar com uma depuração interrompida anteriormente, execute o comando de cancelamento de depuração

bash sudo btrfs scrub resume /Reports

mostra o uso do dispositivo de armazenamento:

btrfs filesystem usage /data

Para distribuir os dados, metadados e dados do sistema em todos os dispositivos de armazenamento do RAID (incluindo o dispositivo de armazenamento recém-adicionado) montados no diretório /data , execute o seguinte comando:

sudo btrfs balance start --full-balance /data

Pode demorar um pouco para espalhar os dados, metadados e dados do sistema em todos os dispositivos de armazenamento do RAID se ele contiver muitos dados.

Opções importantes de montagem Btrfs

Nesta seção, vou explicar algumas das importantes opções de montagem do Btrfs. Então vamos começar.

As opções de montagem Btrfs mais importantes são:

**1. acl e noacl

**ACL gerencia permissões de usuários e grupos para os arquivos/diretórios do sistema de arquivos Btrfs.

A opção de montagem acl Btrfs habilita ACL. Para desabilitar a ACL, você pode usar a opção de montagem noacl .

Por padrão, a ACL está habilitada. Portanto, o sistema de arquivos Btrfs usa a opção de montagem acl por padrão.

**2. autodefrag e noautodefrag

**Desfragmentar um sistema de arquivos Btrfs melhorará o desempenho do sistema de arquivos reduzindo a fragmentação de dados.

A opção de montagem autodefrag permite a desfragmentação automática do sistema de arquivos Btrfs.

A opção de montagem noautodefrag desativa a desfragmentação automática do sistema de arquivos Btrfs.

Por padrão, a desfragmentação automática está desabilitada. Portanto, o sistema de arquivos Btrfs usa a opção de montagem noautodefrag por padrão.

**3. compactar e compactar-forçar

**Controla a compactação de dados no nível do sistema de arquivos do sistema de arquivos Btrfs.

A opção compactar compacta apenas os arquivos que valem a pena compactar (se compactar o arquivo economizar espaço em disco).

A opção compress-force compacta todos os arquivos do sistema de arquivos Btrfs, mesmo que a compactação do arquivo aumente seu tamanho.

O sistema de arquivos Btrfs suporta muitos algoritmos de compactação e cada um dos algoritmos de compactação possui diferentes níveis de compactação.

Os algoritmos de compactação suportados pelo Btrfs são: lzo , zlib (nível 1 a 9) e zstd (nível 1 a 15).

Você pode especificar qual algoritmo de compactação usar para o sistema de arquivos Btrfs com uma das seguintes opções de montagem:

• compress=algoritmo:nível
• compress-force=algoritmo:nível

Para obter mais informações, consulte meu artigo Como habilitar a compactação do sistema de arquivos Btrfs .

**4. subvol e subvolid

**Estas opções de montagem são usadas para montar separadamente um subvolume específico de um sistema de arquivos Btrfs.

A opção de montagem subvol é usada para montar o subvolume de um sistema de arquivos Btrfs usando seu caminho relativo.

A opção de montagem subvolid é usada para montar o subvolume de um sistema de arquivos Btrfs usando o ID do subvolume.

Para obter mais informações, consulte meu artigo Como criar e montar subvolumes Btrfs .

**5. dispositivo

A opção de montagem de dispositivo** é usada no sistema de arquivos Btrfs de vários dispositivos ou RAID Btrfs.

Em alguns casos, o sistema operacional pode falhar ao detectar os dispositivos de armazenamento usados em um sistema de arquivos Btrfs de vários dispositivos ou RAID Btrfs. Nesses casos, você pode usar a opção de montagem do dispositivo para especificar os dispositivos que deseja usar para o sistema de arquivos de vários dispositivos Btrfs ou RAID.

Você pode usar a opção de montagem de dispositivo várias vezes para carregar diferentes dispositivos de armazenamento para o sistema de arquivos de vários dispositivos Btrfs ou RAID.

Você pode usar o nome do dispositivo (ou seja, sdb , sdc ) ou UUID , UUID_SUB ou PARTUUID do dispositivo de armazenamento com a opção de montagem do dispositivo para identificar o dispositivo de armazenamento.

Por exemplo,

• dispositivo=/dev/sdb
• dispositivo=/dev/sdb,dispositivo=/dev/sdc
• dispositivo=UUID_SUB=490a263d-eb9a-4558-931e-998d4d080c5d
• device=UUID_SUB=490a263d-eb9a-4558-931e-998d4d080c5d,device=UUID_SUB=f7ce4875-0874-436a-b47d-3edef66d3424

**6. degraded

A opção de montagem degradada** permite que um RAID Btrfs seja montado com menos dispositivos de armazenamento do que o perfil RAID requer.

Por exemplo, o perfil raid1 requer a presença de 2 dispositivos de armazenamento. Se um dos dispositivos de armazenamento não estiver disponível em qualquer caso, você usa a opção de montagem degradada para montar o RAID mesmo que 1 de 2 dispositivos de armazenamento esteja disponível.

**7. commit

A opção commit** mount é usada para definir o intervalo (em segundos) dentro do qual os dados serão gravados no dispositivo de armazenamento.

O padrão é definido como 30 segundos.

Para definir o intervalo de confirmação para 15 segundos, você pode usar a opção de montagem commit=15 (digamos).

**8. ssd e nossd

A opção de montagem ssd** informa ao sistema de arquivos Btrfs que o sistema de arquivos está usando um dispositivo de armazenamento SSD, e o sistema de arquivos Btrfs faz a otimização SSD necessária.

A opção de montagem nossd desativa a otimização do SSD.

O sistema de arquivos Btrfs detecta automaticamente se um SSD é usado para o sistema de arquivos Btrfs. Se um SSD for usado, a opção de montagem de SSD será habilitada. Caso contrário, a opção de montagem nossd é habilitada.

**9. ssd_spread e nossd_spread

A opção de montagem ssd_spread** tenta alocar grandes blocos contínuos de espaço não utilizado do SSD. Esse recurso melhora o desempenho de SSDs de baixo custo (baratos).

A opção de montagem nossd_spread desativa o recurso ssd_spread .

O sistema de arquivos Btrfs detecta automaticamente se um SSD é usado para o sistema de arquivos Btrfs. Se um SSD for usado, a opção de montagem ssd_spread será habilitada. Caso contrário, a opção de montagem nossd_spread é habilitada.

**10. descarte e nodiscard

Se você estiver usando um SSD que suporte TRIM enfileirado assíncrono (SATA rev3.1), a opção de montagem de descarte** permitirá o descarte de blocos de arquivos liberados. Isso melhorará o desempenho do SSD.

Se o SSD não suportar TRIM enfileirado assíncrono, a opção de montagem de descarte prejudicará o desempenho do SSD. Nesse caso, a opção de montagem nodiscard deve ser usada.

Por padrão, a opção de montagem nodiscard é usada.

**11. norecovery

Se a opção de montagem norecovery** for usada, o sistema de arquivos Btrfs não tentará executar a operação de recuperação de dados no momento da montagem.

**12. usebackuproot e nousebackuproot

Se a opção de montagem usebackuproot for usada, o sistema de arquivos Btrfs tentará recuperar qualquer raiz de árvore ruim/corrompida no momento da montagem. O sistema de arquivos Btrfs pode armazenar várias raízes de árvore no sistema de arquivos. A opção de montagem usebackuproot** procurará uma boa raiz de árvore e usará a primeira boa que encontrar.

A opção de montagem nousebackuproot não verificará ou recuperará raízes de árvore inválidas/corrompidas no momento da montagem. Este é o comportamento padrão do sistema de arquivos Btrfs.

**13. space_cache, space_cache=version, nospace_cache e clear_cache

A opção de montagem space_cache** é usada para controlar o cache de espaço livre. O cache de espaço livre é usado para melhorar o desempenho da leitura do espaço livre do grupo de blocos do sistema de arquivos Btrfs na memória (RAM).

O sistema de arquivos Btrfs suporta 2 versões do cache de espaço livre: v1 (padrão) e v2

O mecanismo de cache de espaço livre v2 melhora o desempenho de sistemas de arquivos grandes (tamanho de vários terabytes).

Você pode usar a opção de montagem space_cache=v1 para definir a v1 do cache de espaço livre e a opção de montagem space_cache=v2 para definir a v2 do cache de espaço livre.

A opção de montagem clear_cache é usada para limpar o cache de espaço livre.

Quando o cache de espaço livre v2 é criado, o cache deve ser limpo para criar um cache de espaço livre v1 .

Portanto, para usar o cache de espaço livre v1 após a criação do cache de espaço livre v2 , as opções de montagem clear_cache e space_cache=v1 devem ser combinadas: clear_cache,space_cache=v1

A opção de montagem nospace_cache é usada para desabilitar o cache de espaço livre.

Para desabilitar o cache de espaço livre após a criação do cache v1 ou v2 , as opções de montagem nospace_cache e clear_cache devem ser combinadas: clear_cache,nosapce_cache

**14. skip_balance

Por padrão, a operação de balanceamento interrompida/pausada de um sistema de arquivos Btrfs de vários dispositivos ou RAID Btrfs será retomada automaticamente assim que o sistema de arquivos Btrfs for montado. Para desabilitar a retomada automática da operação de equilíbrio interrompido/pausado em um sistema de arquivos Btrfs de vários dispositivos ou RAID Btrfs, você pode usar a opção de montagem skip_balance .**

**15. datacow e nodatacow

A opção datacow** mount habilita o recurso Copy-on-Write (CoW) do sistema de arquivos Btrfs. É o comportamento padrão.

Se você deseja desabilitar o recurso Copy-on-Write (CoW) do sistema de arquivos Btrfs para os arquivos recém-criados, monte o sistema de arquivos Btrfs com a opção de montagem nodatacow .

**16. datasum e nodatasum

A opção datasum** mount habilita a soma de verificação de dados para arquivos recém-criados do sistema de arquivos Btrfs. Este é o comportamento padrão.

Se você não quiser que o sistema de arquivos Btrfs faça a soma de verificação dos dados dos arquivos recém-criados, monte o sistema de arquivos Btrfs com a opção de montagem nodatasum .

Perfis Btrfs

Um perfil Btrfs é usado para informar ao sistema de arquivos Btrfs quantas cópias dos dados/metadados devem ser mantidas e quais níveis de RAID devem ser usados para os dados/metadados. O sistema de arquivos Btrfs contém muitos perfis. Entendê-los o ajudará a configurar um RAID Btrfs da maneira que você deseja.

Os perfis Btrfs disponíveis são os seguintes:

single : Se o perfil único for usado para os dados/metadados, apenas uma cópia dos dados/metadados será armazenada no sistema de arquivos, mesmo se você adicionar vários dispositivos de armazenamento ao sistema de arquivos. Assim, 100% do espaço em disco de cada um dos dispositivos de armazenamento adicionados ao sistema de arquivos pode ser utilizado.

dup : Se o perfil dup for usado para os dados/metadados, cada um dos dispositivos de armazenamento adicionados ao sistema de arquivos manterá duas cópias dos dados/metadados. Assim, 50% do espaço em disco de cada um dos dispositivos de armazenamento adicionados ao sistema de arquivos pode ser utilizado.

raid0 : No perfil raid0 , os dados/metadados serão divididos igualmente em todos os dispositivos de armazenamento adicionados ao sistema de arquivos. Nesta configuração, não haverá dados/metadados redundantes (duplicados). Assim, 100% do espaço em disco de cada um dos dispositivos de armazenamento adicionados ao sistema de arquivos pode ser usado. Se, em qualquer caso, um dos dispositivos de armazenamento falhar, todo o sistema de arquivos será corrompido. Você precisará de pelo menos dois dispositivos de armazenamento para configurar o sistema de arquivos Btrfs no perfil raid0 .

raid1 : No perfil raid1 , duas cópias dos dados/metadados serão armazenadas nos dispositivos de armazenamento adicionados ao sistema de arquivos. Nesta configuração, a matriz RAID pode sobreviver a uma falha de unidade. Mas você pode usar apenas 50% do espaço total em disco. Você precisará de pelo menos dois dispositivos de armazenamento para configurar o sistema de arquivos Btrfs no perfil raid1 .

raid1c3 : No perfil raid1c3 , três cópias dos dados/metadados serão armazenadas nos dispositivos de armazenamento adicionados ao sistema de arquivos. Nesta configuração, a matriz RAID pode sobreviver a duas falhas de unidade, mas você pode usar apenas 33% do espaço total em disco. Você precisará de pelo menos três dispositivos de armazenamento para configurar o sistema de arquivos Btrfs no perfil raid1c3 .

raid1c4 : No perfil raid1c4 , quatro cópias dos dados/metadados serão armazenadas nos dispositivos de armazenamento adicionados ao sistema de arquivos. Nesta configuração, a matriz RAID pode sobreviver a três falhas de unidade, mas você pode usar apenas 25% do espaço total em disco. Você precisará de pelo menos quatro dispositivos de armazenamento para configurar o sistema de arquivos Btrfs no perfil raid1c4 .

raid10 : No perfil raid10 , duas cópias dos dados/metadados serão armazenadas nos dispositivos de armazenamento adicionados ao sistema de arquivos, como no perfil raid1 . Além disso, os dados/metadados serão divididos entre os dispositivos de armazenamento, como no perfil raid0 .

O perfil raid10 é um híbrido dos perfis raid1 e raid0 . Alguns dos dispositivos de armazenamento formam arrays raid1 e alguns desses arrays raid1 são usados para formar um array raid0 . Em uma configuração raid10 , o sistema de arquivos pode sobreviver a uma única falha de unidade em cada uma das matrizes raid1 .

Você pode usar 50% do espaço total em disco na configuração raid10 . Você precisará de pelo menos quatro dispositivos de armazenamento para configurar o sistema de arquivos Btrfs no perfil raid10 .

raid5 : No perfil raid5 , uma cópia dos dados/metadados será dividida entre os dispositivos de armazenamento. Uma única paridade será calculada e distribuída entre os dispositivos de armazenamento do array RAID.

Em uma configuração raid5 , o sistema de arquivos pode sobreviver a uma única falha de unidade. Se uma unidade falhar, você pode adicionar uma nova unidade ao sistema de arquivos e os dados perdidos serão calculados a partir da paridade distribuída das unidades em execução.

Você pode usar 1 00x(N-1)/N % do total de espaços em disco na configuração raid5 . Aqui, N é o número de dispositivos de armazenamento adicionados ao sistema de arquivos. Você precisará de pelo menos três dispositivos de armazenamento para configurar o sistema de arquivos Btrfs no perfil raid5 .

raid6 : No perfil raid6 , uma cópia dos dados/metadados será dividida entre os dispositivos de armazenamento. Duas paridades serão calculadas e distribuídas entre os dispositivos de armazenamento do array RAID.

Em uma configuração raid6 , o sistema de arquivos pode sobreviver a duas falhas de unidade ao mesmo tempo. Se uma unidade falhar, você poderá adicionar uma nova unidade ao sistema de arquivos e os dados perdidos serão calculados a partir das duas paridades distribuídas das unidades em execução.

Você pode usar 100x(N-2)/N % do espaço total em disco na configuração raid6 . Aqui, N é o número de dispositivos de armazenamento adicionados ao sistema de arquivos. Você precisará de pelo menos quatro dispositivos de armazenamento para configurar o sistema de arquivos Btrfs no perfil raid6 .

@ 3b3a42d3:d192e325

Atomic Signature Swaps (ASS) over Nostr is a protocol for atomically exchanging Schnorr signatures using Nostr events for orchestration. This new primitive enables multiple interesting applications like:

• Getting paid to publish specific Nostr events
• Issuing automatic payment receipts
• Contract signing in exchange for payment
• P2P asset exchanges
• Trading and enforcement of asset option contracts
• Payment in exchange for Nostr-based credentials or access tokens
• Exchanging GMs 🌞

It only requires that (i) the involved signatures be Schnorr signatures using the secp256k1 curve and that (ii) at least one of those signatures be accessible to both parties. These requirements are naturally met by Nostr events (published to relays), Taproot transactions (published to the mempool and later to the blockchain), and Cashu payments (using mints that support NUT-07, allowing any pair of these signatures to be swapped atomically.

How the Cryptographic Magic Works 🪄

This is a Schnorr signature (Zₓ, s):

s = z + H(Zₓ || P || m)⋅k

If you haven't seen it before, don't worry, neither did I until three weeks ago.

The signature scalar s is the the value a signer with private key k (and public key P = k⋅G) must calculate to prove his commitment over the message m given a randomly generated nonce z (Zₓ is just the x-coordinate of the public point Z = z⋅G). H is a hash function (sha256 with the tag "BIP0340/challenge" when dealing with BIP340), || just means to concatenate and G is the generator point of the elliptic curve, used to derive public values from private ones.

Now that you understand what this equation means, let's just rename z = r + t. We can do that, z is just a randomly generated number that can be represented as the sum of two other numbers. It also follows that z⋅G = r⋅G + t⋅G ⇔ Z = R + T. Putting it all back into the definition of a Schnorr signature we get:

s = (r + t) + H((R + T)ₓ || P || m)⋅k

Which is the same as:

s = sₐ + t where sₐ = r + H((R + T)ₓ || P || m)⋅k

sₐ is what we call the adaptor signature scalar) and t is the secret. ((R + T)ₓ, sₐ) is an incomplete signature that just becomes valid by add the secret t to the sₐ:

s = sₐ + t

What is also important for our purposes is that by getting access to the valid signature s, one can also extract t from it by just subtracting sₐ:

t = s - sₐ

The specific value of t depends on our choice of the public point T, since R is just a public point derived from a randomly generated nonce r.

So how do we choose T so that it requires the secret t to be the signature over a specific message m' by an specific public key P'? (without knowing the value of t)

Let's start with the definition of t as a valid Schnorr signature by P' over m':

t = r' + H(R'ₓ || P' || m')⋅k' ⇔ t⋅G = r'⋅G + H(R'ₓ || P' || m')⋅k'⋅G

That is the same as:

T = R' + H(R'ₓ || P' || m')⋅P'

Notice that in order to calculate the appropriate T that requires t to be an specific signature scalar, we only need to know the public nonce R' used to generate that signature.

In summary: in order to atomically swap Schnorr signatures, one party P' must provide a public nonce R', while the other party P must provide an adaptor signature using that nonce:

sₐ = r + H((R + T)ₓ || P || m)⋅k where T = R' + H(R'ₓ || P' || m')⋅P'

P' (the nonce provider) can then add his own signature t to the adaptor signature sₐ in order to get a valid signature by P, i.e. s = sₐ + t. When he publishes this signature (as a Nostr event, Cashu transaction or Taproot transaction), it becomes accessible to P that can now extract the signature t by P' and also make use of it.

Important considerations

A signature may not be useful at the end of the swap if it unlocks funds that have already been spent, or that are vulnerable to fee bidding wars.

When a swap involves a Taproot UTXO, it must always use a 2-of-2 multisig timelock to avoid those issues.

Cashu tokens do not require this measure when its signature is revealed first, because the mint won't reveal the other signature if they can't be successfully claimed, but they also require a 2-of-2 multisig timelock when its signature is only revealed last (what is unavoidable in cashu for cashu swaps).

For Nostr events, whoever receives the signature first needs to publish it to at least one relay that is accessible by the other party. This is a reasonable expectation in most cases, but may be an issue if the event kind involved is meant to be used privately.

How to Orchestrate the Swap over Nostr?

Before going into the specific event kinds, it is important to recognize what are the requirements they must meet and what are the concerns they must address. There are mainly three requirements:

• Both parties must agree on the messages they are going to sign
• One party must provide a public nonce
• The other party must provide an adaptor signature using that nonce

There is also a fundamental asymmetry in the roles of both parties, resulting in the following significant downsides for the party that generates the adaptor signature:

• NIP-07 and remote signers do not currently support the generation of adaptor signatures, so he must either insert his nsec in the client or use a fork of another signer
• There is an overhead of retrieving the completed signature containing the secret, either from the blockchain, mint endpoint or finding the appropriate relay
• There is risk he may not get his side of the deal if the other party only uses his signature privately, as I have already mentioned
• There is risk of losing funds by not extracting or using the signature before its timelock expires. The other party has no risk since his own signature won't be exposed by just not using the signature he received.

The protocol must meet all those requirements, allowing for some kind of role negotiation and while trying to reduce the necessary hops needed to complete the swap.

Swap Proposal Event (kind:455)

This event enables a proposer and his counterparty to agree on the specific messages whose signatures they intend to exchange. The content field is the following stringified JSON:

{     "give": <signature spec (required)>,     "take": <signature spec (required)>,     "exp": <expiration timestamp (optional)>,     "role": "<adaptor | nonce (optional)>",     "description": "<Info about the proposal (optional)>",     "nonce": "<Signature public nonce (optional)>",     "enc_s": "<Encrypted signature scalar (optional)>" }

The field role indicates what the proposer will provide during the swap, either the nonce or the adaptor. When this optional field is not provided, the counterparty may decide whether he will send a nonce back in a Swap Nonce event or a Swap Adaptor event using the nonce (optionally) provided by in the Swap Proposal in order to avoid one hop of interaction.

The enc_s field may be used to store the encrypted scalar of the signature associated with the nonce, since this information is necessary later when completing the adaptor signature received from the other party.

A signature spec specifies the type and all necessary information for producing and verifying a given signature. In the case of signatures for Nostr events, it contain a template with all the fields, except pubkey, id and sig:

{ "type": "nostr", "template": { "kind": "<kind>"        "content": "<content>"        "tags": [ … ],        "created_at": "<created_at>" } }

In the case of Cashu payments, a simplified signature spec just needs to specify the payment amount and an array of mints trusted by the proposer:

{   "type": "cashu",   "amount": "<amount>",   "mint": ["<acceptable mint_url>", …] }

This works when the payer provides the adaptor signature, but it still needs to be extended to also work when the payer is the one receiving the adaptor signature. In the later case, the signature spec must also include a timelock and the derived public keys Y of each Cashu Proof, but for now let's just ignore this situation. It should be mentioned that the mint must be trusted by both parties and also support Token state check (NUT-07) for revealing the completed adaptor signature and P2PK spending conditions (NUT-11) for the cryptographic scheme to work.

The tags are:

• "p", the proposal counterparty's public key (required)
• "a", a kind:30455 Swap Listing event or an application specific version of it (optional)

Forget about this Swap Listing event for now, I will get to it later...

Swap Nonce Event (kind:456) - Optional

This is an optional event for the Swap Proposal receiver to provide the public nonce of his signature when the proposal does not include a nonce or when he does not want to provide the adaptor signature due to the downsides previously mentioned. The content field is the following stringified JSON:

{     "nonce": "<Signature public nonce>",     "enc_s": "<Encrypted signature scalar (optional)>" }

And the tags must contain:

• "e", a kind:455 Swap Proposal Event (required)
• "p", the counterparty's public key (required)

Swap Adaptor Event (kind:457)

The content field is the following stringified JSON:

{ "adaptors": [ {         "sa": "<Adaptor signature scalar>",         "R": "<Signer's public nonce (including parity byte)>",         "T": "<Adaptor point (including parity byte)>",         "Y": "<Cashu proof derived public key (if applicable)>",     }, …],     "cashu": "<Cashu V4 token (if applicable)>" }

And the tags must contain:

• "e", a kind:455 Swap Proposal Event (required)
• "p", the counterparty's public key (required)

Discoverability

The Swap Listing event previously mentioned as an optional tag in the Swap Proposal may be used to find an appropriate counterparty for a swap. It allows a user to announce what he wants to accomplish, what his requirements are and what is still open for negotiation.

Swap Listing Event (kind:30455)

The content field is the following stringified JSON:

{ "description": "<Information about the listing (required)>", "give": <partial signature spec (optional)>, "take": <partial signature spec (optional)>, "examples: [<take signature spec>], // optional "exp": <expiration timestamp (optional)>, "role": "<adaptor | nonce (optional)>" }

The description field describes the restrictions on counterparties and signatures the user is willing to accept.

A partial signature spec is an incomplete signature spec used in Swap Proposal events kind:455 where omitting fields signals that they are still open for negotiation.

The examples field is an array of signature specs the user would be willing to take.

The tags are:

• "d", a unique listing id (required)
• "s", the status of the listing draft | open | closed (required)
• "t", topics related to this listing (optional)
• "p", public keys to notify about the proposal (optional)

Application Specific Swap Listings

Since Swap Listings are still fairly generic, it is expected that specific use cases define new event kinds based on the generic listing. Those application specific swap listing would be easier to filter by clients and may impose restrictions and add new fields and/or tags. The following are some examples under development:

Sponsored Events

This listing is designed for users looking to promote content on the Nostr network, as well as for those who want to monetize their accounts by sharing curated sponsored content with their existing audiences.

It follows the same format as the generic Swap Listing event, but uses the kind:30456 instead.

The following new tags are included:

• "k", event kind being sponsored (required)
• "title", campaign title (optional)

It is required that at least one signature spec (give and/or take) must have "type": "nostr" and also contain the following tag ["sponsor", "<pubkey>", "<attestation>"] with the sponsor's public key and his signature over the signature spec without the sponsor tag as his attestation. This last requirement enables clients to disclose and/or filter sponsored events.

Asset Swaps

This listing is designed for users looking for counterparties to swap different assets that can be transferred using Schnorr signatures, like any unit of Cashu tokens, Bitcoin or other asset IOUs issued using Taproot.

It follows the same format as the generic Swap Listing event, but uses the kind:30457 instead.

It requires the following additional tags:

• "t", asset pair to be swapped (e.g. "btcusd")
• "t", asset being offered (e.g. "btc")
• "t", accepted payment method (e.g. "cashu", "taproot")

Swap Negotiation

From finding an appropriate Swap Listing to publishing a Swap Proposal, there may be some kind of negotiation between the involved parties, e.g. agreeing on the amount to be paid by one of the parties or the exact content of a Nostr event signed by the other party. There are many ways to accomplish that and clients may implement it as they see fit for their specific goals. Some suggestions are:

• Adding kind:1111 Comments to the Swap Listing or an existing Swap Proposal
• Exchanging tentative Swap Proposals back and forth until an agreement is reached
• Simple exchanges of DMs
• Out of band communication (e.g. Signal)

Work to be done

I've been refining this specification as I develop some proof-of-concept clients to experience its flaws and trade-offs in practice. I left the signature spec for Taproot signatures out of the current document as I still have to experiment with it. I will probably find some important orchestration issues related to dealing with 2-of-2 multisig timelocks, which also affects Cashu transactions when spent last, that may require further adjustments to what was presented here.

The main goal of this article is to find other people interested in this concept and willing to provide valuable feedback before a PR is opened in the NIPs repository for broader discussions.

References

• GM Swap- Nostr client for atomically exchanging GM notes. Live demo available here.
• Sig4Sats Script - A Typescript script demonstrating the swap of a Cashu payment for a signed Nostr event.
• Loudr- Nostr client under development for sponsoring the publication of Nostr events. Live demo available at loudr.me.
• Poelstra, A. (2017). Scriptless Scripts. Blockstream Research. https://github.com/BlockstreamResearch/scriptless-scripts

@ 3b3a42d3:d192e325

Atomic Signature Swaps (ASS) over Nostr is a protocol for atomically exchanging Schnorr signatures using Nostr events for orchestration. This new primitive enables multiple interesting applications like:

• Getting paid to publish specific Nostr events
• Issuing automatic payment receipts
• Contract signing in exchange for payment
• P2P asset exchanges
• Payment in exchange for Nostr-based credentials or access tokens
• Exchanging GMs 🌞

It only requires that (i) the involved signatures be Schnorr signatures using the secp256k1 curve and that (ii) at least one of those signatures be accessible to both parties. These requirements are naturally met by Nostr events (published to relays), Taproot transactions (published to the mempool and later to the blockchain), and Cashu payments (using mints that support NUT-07, allowing any pair of these signatures to be swapped atomically.

How the Cryptographic Magic Works 🪄

This is a Schnorr signature (Zₓ, s):

s = z + H(Zₓ || P || m)⋅k

If you haven't seen it before, don't worry, neither did I until three weeks ago.

The signature scalar s is the the value a signer with private key k (and public key P = k⋅G) must calculate to prove his commitment over the message m given a randomly generated nonce z (Zₓ is just the x-coordinate of the public point Z = z⋅G). H is a hash function (sha256 with the tag "BIP0340/challenge" when dealing with BIP340), || just means to concatenate and G is the generator point of the elliptic curve, used to derive public values from private ones.

Now that you understand what this equation means, let's just rename z = r + t. We can do that, z is just a randomly generated number that can be represented as the sum of two other numbers. It also follows that z⋅G = r⋅G + t⋅G ⇔ Z = R + T. Putting it all back into the definition of a Schnorr signature we get:

s = (r + t) + H((R + T)ₓ || P || m)⋅k

Which is the same as:

s = sₐ + t where sₐ = r + H((R + T)ₓ || P || m)⋅k

sₐ is what we call the adaptor signature scalar) and t is the secret. ((R + T)ₓ, sₐ) is an incomplete signature that just becomes valid by add the secret t to the sₐ:

s = sₐ + t

What is also important for our purposes is that by getting access to the valid signature s, one can also extract t from it by just subtracting sₐ:

t = s - sₐ

The specific value of t depends on our choice of the public point T, since R is just a public point derived from a randomly generated nonce r.

So how do we choose T so that it requires the secret t to be the signature over a specific message m' by an specific public key P'? (without knowing the value of t)

Let's start with the definition of t as a valid Schnorr signature by P' over m':

t = r' + H(R'ₓ || P' || m')⋅k' ⇔ t⋅G = r'⋅G + H(R'ₓ || P' || m')⋅k'⋅G

That is the same as:

T = R' + H(R'ₓ || P' || m')⋅P'

Notice that in order to calculate the appropriate T that requires t to be an specific signature scalar, we only need to know the public nonce R' used to generate that signature.

In summary: in order to atomically swap Schnorr signatures, one party P' must provide a public nonce R', while the other party P must provide an adaptor signature using that nonce:

sₐ = r + H((R + T)ₓ || P || m)⋅k where T = R' + H(R'ₓ || P' || m')⋅P'

P' (the nonce provider) can then add his own signature t to the adaptor signature sₐ in order to get a valid signature by P, i.e. s = sₐ + t. When he publishes this signature (as a Nostr event, Cashu transaction or Taproot transaction), it becomes accessible to P that can now extract the signature t by P' and also make use of it.

Important considerations

A signature may not be useful at the end of the swap if it unlocks funds that have already been spent, or that are vulnerable to fee bidding wars.

When a swap involves a Taproot UTXO, it must always use a 2-of-2 multisig timelock to avoid those issues.

Cashu tokens do not require this measure when its signature is revealed first, because the mint won't reveal the other signature if they can't be successfully claimed, but they also require a 2-of-2 multisig timelock when its signature is only revealed last (what is unavoidable in cashu for cashu swaps).

For Nostr events, whoever receives the signature first needs to publish it to at least one relay that is accessible by the other party. This is a reasonable expectation in most cases, but may be an issue if the event kind involved is meant to be used privately.

How to Orchestrate the Swap over Nostr?

Before going into the specific event kinds, it is important to recognize what are the requirements they must meet and what are the concerns they must address. There are mainly three requirements:

• Both parties must agree on the messages they are going to sign
• One party must provide a public nonce
• The other party must provide an adaptor signature using that nonce

There is also a fundamental asymmetry in the roles of both parties, resulting in the following significant downsides for the party that generates the adaptor signature:

• NIP-07 and remote signers do not currently support the generation of adaptor signatures, so he must either insert his nsec in the client or use a fork of another signer
• There is an overhead of retrieving the completed signature containing the secret, either from the blockchain, mint endpoint or finding the appropriate relay
• There is risk he may not get his side of the deal if the other party only uses his signature privately, as I have already mentioned
• There is risk of losing funds by not extracting or using the signature before its timelock expires. The other party has no risk since his own signature won't be exposed by just not using the signature he received.

The protocol must meet all those requirements, allowing for some kind of role negotiation and while trying to reduce the necessary hops needed to complete the swap.

Swap Proposal Event (kind:455)

This event enables a proposer and his counterparty to agree on the specific messages whose signatures they intend to exchange. The content field is the following stringified JSON:

{     "give": <signature spec (required)>,     "take": <signature spec (required)>,     "exp": <expiration timestamp (optional)>,     "role": "<adaptor | nonce (optional)>",     "description": "<Info about the proposal (optional)>",     "nonce": "<Signature public nonce (optional)>",     "enc_s": "<Encrypted signature scalar (optional)>" }

The field role indicates what the proposer will provide during the swap, either the nonce or the adaptor. When this optional field is not provided, the counterparty may decide whether he will send a nonce back in a Swap Nonce event or a Swap Adaptor event using the nonce (optionally) provided by in the Swap Proposal in order to avoid one hop of interaction.

The enc_s field may be used to store the encrypted scalar of the signature associated with the nonce, since this information is necessary later when completing the adaptor signature received from the other party.

A signature spec specifies the type and all necessary information for producing and verifying a given signature. In the case of signatures for Nostr events, it contain a template with all the fields, except pubkey, id and sig:

{ "type": "nostr", "template": { "kind": "<kind>"        "content": "<content>"        "tags": [ … ],        "created_at": "<created_at>" } }

In the case of Cashu payments, a simplified signature spec just needs to specify the payment amount and an array of mints trusted by the proposer:

{   "type": "cashu",   "amount": "<amount>",   "mint": ["<acceptable mint_url>", …] }

This works when the payer provides the adaptor signature, but it still needs to be extended to also work when the payer is the one receiving the adaptor signature. In the later case, the signature spec must also include a timelock and the derived public keys Y of each Cashu Proof, but for now let's just ignore this situation. It should be mentioned that the mint must be trusted by both parties and also support Token state check (NUT-07) for revealing the completed adaptor signature and P2PK spending conditions (NUT-11) for the cryptographic scheme to work.

The tags are:

• "p", the proposal counterparty's public key (required)
• "a", a kind:30455 Swap Listing event or an application specific version of it (optional)

Forget about this Swap Listing event for now, I will get to it later...

Swap Nonce Event (kind:456) - Optional

This is an optional event for the Swap Proposal receiver to provide the public nonce of his signature when the proposal does not include a nonce or when he does not want to provide the adaptor signature due to the downsides previously mentioned. The content field is the following stringified JSON:

{     "nonce": "<Signature public nonce>",     "enc_s": "<Encrypted signature scalar (optional)>" }

And the tags must contain:

• "e", a kind:455 Swap Proposal Event (required)
• "p", the counterparty's public key (required)

Swap Adaptor Event (kind:457)

The content field is the following stringified JSON:

{ "adaptors": [ {         "sa": "<Adaptor signature scalar>",         "R": "<Signer's public nonce (including parity byte)>",         "T": "<Adaptor point (including parity byte)>",         "Y": "<Cashu proof derived public key (if applicable)>",     }, …],     "cashu": "<Cashu V4 token (if applicable)>" }

And the tags must contain:

• "e", a kind:455 Swap Proposal Event (required)
• "p", the counterparty's public key (required)

Discoverability

The Swap Listing event previously mentioned as an optional tag in the Swap Proposal may be used to find an appropriate counterparty for a swap. It allows a user to announce what he wants to accomplish, what his requirements are and what is still open for negotiation.

Swap Listing Event (kind:30455)

The content field is the following stringified JSON:

{ "description": "<Information about the listing (required)>", "give": <partial signature spec (optional)>, "take": <partial signature spec (optional)>, "examples: [<take signature spec>], // optional "exp": <expiration timestamp (optional)>, "role": "<adaptor | nonce (optional)>" }

The description field describes the restrictions on counterparties and signatures the user is willing to accept.

A partial signature spec is an incomplete signature spec used in Swap Proposal events kind:455 where omitting fields signals that they are still open for negotiation.

The examples field is an array of signature specs the user would be willing to take.

The tags are:

• "d", a unique listing id (required)
• "s", the status of the listing draft | open | closed (required)
• "t", topics related to this listing (optional)
• "p", public keys to notify about the proposal (optional)

Application Specific Swap Listings

Since Swap Listings are still fairly generic, it is expected that specific use cases define new event kinds based on the generic listing. Those application specific swap listing would be easier to filter by clients and may impose restrictions and add new fields and/or tags. The following are some examples under development:

Sponsored Events

This listing is designed for users looking to promote content on the Nostr network, as well as for those who want to monetize their accounts by sharing curated sponsored content with their existing audiences.

It follows the same format as the generic Swap Listing event, but uses the kind:30456 instead.

The following new tags are included:

• "k", event kind being sponsored (required)
• "title", campaign title (optional)

It is required that at least one signature spec (give and/or take) must have "type": "nostr" and also contain the following tag ["sponsor", "<pubkey>", "<attestation>"] with the sponsor's public key and his signature over the signature spec without the sponsor tag as his attestation. This last requirement enables clients to disclose and/or filter sponsored events.

Asset Swaps

This listing is designed for users looking for counterparties to swap different assets that can be transferred using Schnorr signatures, like any unit of Cashu tokens, Bitcoin or other asset IOUs issued using Taproot.

It follows the same format as the generic Swap Listing event, but uses the kind:30457 instead.

It requires the following additional tags:

• "t", asset pair to be swapped (e.g. "btcusd")
• "t", asset being offered (e.g. "btc")
• "t", accepted payment method (e.g. "cashu", "taproot")

Swap Negotiation

From finding an appropriate Swap Listing to publishing a Swap Proposal, there may be some kind of negotiation between the involved parties, e.g. agreeing on the amount to be paid by one of the parties or the exact content of a Nostr event signed by the other party. There are many ways to accomplish that and clients may implement it as they see fit for their specific goals. Some suggestions are:

• Adding kind:1111 Comments to the Swap Listing or an existing Swap Proposal
• Exchanging tentative Swap Proposals back and forth until an agreement is reached
• Simple exchanges of DMs
• Out of band communication (e.g. Signal)

Work to be done

I've been refining this specification as I develop some proof-of-concept clients to experience its flaws and trade-offs in practice. I left the signature spec for Taproot signatures out of the current document as I still have to experiment with it. I will probably find some important orchestration issues related to dealing with 2-of-2 multisig timelocks, which also affects Cashu transactions when spent last, that may require further adjustments to what was presented here.

The main goal of this article is to find other people interested in this concept and willing to provide valuable feedback before a PR is opened in the NIPs repository for broader discussions.

References

• GM Swap- Nostr client for atomically exchanging GM notes. Live demo available here.
• Sig4Sats Script - A Typescript script demonstrating the swap of a Cashu payment for a signed Nostr event.
• Loudr- Nostr client under development for sponsoring the publication of Nostr events. Live demo available at loudr.me.
• Poelstra, A. (2017). Scriptless Scripts. Blockstream Research. https://github.com/BlockstreamResearch/scriptless-scripts

@ f4db5270:3c74e0d0

Hi Art lover! 🎨🫂💜

You may not know it yet but all of the following paintings are available in #Bitcoin on my website: <https://isolabellart.carrd.co/>

For info and prices write to me in DM and we will find a good deal! 🤝

THE QUIET ROOM 50x40cm, Oil on board - Completed May 8, 2025

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OLTRE LA NEBBIA 50x40cm, Oil on board - Completed April 18, 2025

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TO THE LAST LIGHT 50x40cm, Oil on board - Completed April 5, 2025

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BLINDING SUNSET 40x40cm, Oil on board - Completed March 18, 2025

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ECHI DEL TEMPO PERDUTO 40x40cm, Oil on board - Completed March 09, 2025

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EVANESCENZE 40x40cm, Oil on board - Completed February 11, 2025

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OLTRE LA STACCIONATA 50x40cm, Oil on board - Completed February 8, 2025

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LONELY WINDMILL 50x40cm, Oil on board - Completed January 30, 2025

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ON THE ROAD AGAIN 40x50cm, Oil on canvas - Completed January 23, 2025

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SUN OF JANUARY 40x50cm, Oil on canvas - Completed January 14, 2025

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THE BLUE HOUR 40x50cm, Oil on canvas - Completed December 14, 2024

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WHERE WINTER WHISPERS 50x40cm, Oil on canvas - Completed November 07, 2024

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L'ATTESA DI UN MOMENTO 40x40cm, Oil on canvas - Completed October 29, 2024

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LE COSE CHE PENSANO 40x50cm, Oil on paper - Completed October 05, 2024

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TWILIGHT'S RIVER 50x40cm, Oil on canvas - Completed September 17, 2024

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GOLD ON THE OCEAN 40x50cm, Oil on paper - Completed September 08, 2024

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SUSSURRI DI CIELO E MARE 50x40cm, Oil on paper - Completed September 05, 2024

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THE END OF A WONDERFUL WEEKEND 40x30cm, Oil on board - Completed August 12, 2024

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FIAMME NEL CIELO 60x35cm, Oil on board - Completed July 28, 2024

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INIZIO D'ESTATE 50x40cm, Oil on cradled wood panel Completed July 13, 2024

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OMBRE DELLA SERA 50x40cm, Oil on cradled wood panel - Completed June 16, 2024

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NEW ZEALAND SUNSET 80x60cm, Oil on canvas board - Completed May 28, 2024

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VENICE 50x40cm, Oil on board - Completed May 4, 2024

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CORNWALL 50x40cm, Oil on board - Completed April 26, 2024

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DOCKS ON SUNSET 40x19,5cm, Oil on board Completed March 14, 2024

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SOLITUDE 30x30cm, Oil on cradled wood panel - Completed March 2, 2024

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LULLING WAVES 40x30cm, Oil on cradled wood panel - Completed January 14, 2024

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MULATTIERA IN AUTUNNO 30x30cm, Oil on cradled wood panel - Completed November 23, 2023

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TRAMONTO A KOS 40x40cm, oil on board canvas - Completed November 7, 2023

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HIDDEN SMILE 40x40cm, oil on board - Completed September 28, 2023

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INIZIO D'AUTUNNO 40x40cm, oil on canvas - Completed September 23, 2023

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BOE NEL LAGO 30x30cm, oil on canvas board - Completed August 15, 2023

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BARCHE A RIPOSO 40x40cm, oil on canvas board - Completed July 25, 2023

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IL RISVEGLIO 30x40cm, oil on canvas board - Completed July 18, 2023

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LA QUIETE PRIMA DELLA TEMPESTA 30x40cm, oil on canvas board - Completed March 30, 2023

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LAMPIONE SUL LAGO 30x30cm, oil on canvas board - Completed March 05, 2023

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DUE NELLA NEVE 60x25cm, oil on board - Completed February 4, 2023

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UNA CAREZZA 30x30cm, oil on canvas board - Completed January 17, 2023

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REBEL WAVES 44x32cm, oil on canvas board

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THE SCREAMING WAVE 40x30cm, oil on canvas board

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"LA DONZELLETTA VIEN DALLA CAMPAGNA..." 30x40cm, oil on canvas board

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LIGHTHOUSE ON WHITE CLIFF 30x40cm, oil on canvas board

@ 57d1a264:69f1fee1

Payjoin allows the sender and receiver of an on-chain payment to collaborate and create a transaction that breaks on-chain heuristics, allowing a more private transaction with ambiguous payment amount and UTXO ownership. Additionally, it can also be used for UTXO consolidation (receiver saves future fees) and batching payments (receiver can make payment(s) of their own in the process of receiving one), also known as transaction cut-through. Other than improved privacy, the rest of the benefits are typically applicable to the receiver, not the sender.

BIP-78 was the original payjoin protocol that required the receiver to run a endpoint/server (always online) in order to mediate the payjoin process. Payjoin adoption has remained pretty low, something attributed to the server & perpetual online-ness requirement. This is the motivation for payjoin v2.

The purpose of the one-pager is to analyse the protocol, and highlight the UX issues or tradeoffs it entails, so that the payjoin user flows can be appropriately designed and the tradeoffs likewise communicated. A further document on UX solutions might be needed to identify solutions and opportunities

The following observations are generally limited to individual users transacting through their mobile devices:

While users naturally want better privacy and fee-savings, they also want to minimise friction and minimise (optimise) payment time. These are universal and more immediate needs since they deal with the user experience.

Added manual steps

TL;DR v2 payjoin eliminates server & simultaneous user-liveness requirements (increasing TAM, and opportunities to payjoin, as a result) by adding manual steps.

Usually, the extent of the receiver's involvement in the transaction process is limited to sharing their address with the sender. Once they share the address/URI, they can basically forget about it. In the target scenario for v2 payjoin, the receiver must come online again (except they have no way of knowing "when") to contribute input(s) and sign the PSBT. This can be unexpected, unintuitive and a bit of a hassle.

Usually (and even with payjoin v1), the sender crafts and broadcasts the transaction in one go; meaning the user's job is done within a few seconds/minutes. With payjoin v2, they must share the original-PSBT with the receiver, and then wait for them to do their part. Once the the receiver has done that, the sender must come online to review the transaction, sign it & broadcast.

In summary,

In payjoin v1, step 3 is automated and instant, so delay 2, 3 =~ 0. As the user experiences it, the process is completed in a single session, akin to a non-payjoin transaction.

With payjoin v2, Steps 2 & 3 in the above diagram are widely spread and noticeable. These manual steps are separated by uncertain delays (more on that below) when compared to a non-payjoin transaction.

Delays

We've established that both senders and receivers must take extra manual steps to execute a payoin transaction. With payjoin v2, this process gets split into multiple sessions, since the sender and receiver are not like to be online simultaneously.

Delay 2 & 3 (see diagram above) are uncertain in nature. Most users do not open their bitcoin wallets for days or weeks! The receiver must come online before the timeout hits in order for the payjoin process to work, otherwise time is just wasted with no benefit. UX or technical solutions are needed to minimise these delays.

Delays might be exacerbated if the setup is based on hardware wallet and/or uses multisig.

Notifications or background processes

There is one major problem when we say "the user must come online to..." but in reality the user has no way of knowing there is a payjoin PSBT waiting for them. After a PSBT is sent to the relay, the opposite user would only find out about it whenever they happen to come online. Notifications and background sync processes might be necessary to minimise delays. This is absolutely essential to avert timeouts in addition to saving valuable time. Another risk is phantom payjoin stuff after the timeout is expired if receiver-side does not know it has.

Fee Savings

The following observations might be generally applicable for both original and this v2 payjoin version. Fee-savings with payjoin is a tricky topic. Of course, overall a payjoin transaction is always cheaper than 2 separate transactions, since they get to share the overhead.

Additionally, without the receiver contributing to fees, the chosen fee rate of the PSBT (at the beginning) drops, and can lead to slower confirmation. From another perspective, a sender paying with payjoin pays higher fees for similar confirmation target. This has been observed in a production wallet years back. Given that total transaction time can extend to days, the fee environment itself might change, and all this must be considered when designing the UX.

Of course, there is nothing stopping the receiver from contributing to fees, but this idea is likely entirely novel to the bitcoin ecosystem (perhaps payments ecosystem in general) and the user base. Additionally, nominally it involves the user paying fees and tolerating delays just to receive bitcoin. Without explicit incentives/features that encourage receivers to participate, payjoining might seem like an unncessary hassle.

Overall, it seems that payjoin makes UX significant tradeoffs for important privacy (and potential fee-saving) benefits. This means that the UX might have to do significant heavy-lifting, to ensure that users are not surprised, confused or frustrated when they try to transact on-chain in a privacy-friendly feature. Good, timely communication, new features for consolidation & txn-cutthrough and guided user flows seem crucial to ensure payjoin adoption and for help make on-chain privacy a reality for users.

---------------

Original document available here. Reach out at yashrajdca@proton.me, y_a_s_h_r_a_j.70 on Signal, or on reach out in Bitcoin Design discord.

https://stacker.news/items/981388

@ 266815e0:6cd408a5

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse cillum dolore eu fugiat nulla pariatur. Excepteur sint occaecat cupidatat non proident, sunt in culpa qui officia deserunt mollit anim id est laborum.

@ 57d1a264:69f1fee1

LegoGPT generates a LEGO structure from a user-provided text prompt in an end-to-end manner. Notably, our generated LEGO structure is physically stable and buildable.

Lego is something most of us knows. This is a opportuity to ask where is our creativity going? From the art of crafting figures to building blocks following our need and desires to have a machine thinking and building following step-by-step instructions to achieve an isolated goal.

Is the creative act then in the question itself, not anymore in the crafting? Are we just delegating the solution of problems, the thinking of how to respond to questions, to machines? Would it be different if delegated to other people?

Source: https://avalovelace1.github.io/LegoGPT/

https://stacker.news/items/981336

@ 7b20d99d:d2a541a9

In a world where we often hear talk of financial bubbles, speculation, and individual enrichment through cryptocurrencies, Hope With Bitcoin resolutely takes the opposite approach. Here, Bitcoin is not an end in itself, but a means to reach out. A tool serving a simple, universal human cause: bringing smiles and hope back to those who need it most.

Far from big, empty promises and empty charitable projects, Hope With Bitcoin is committed to a philosophy of direct impact, total transparency, and lasting transformation of lives.

🔗 Official project link : https://linktr.ee/hopewithbtc

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🟢 Why “Hope With Bitcoin”?

It all started with an observation: too many people are living in oblivion. In some regions, particularly in Africa, it doesn't take much to bring back a smile: a meal, a word, a gesture. But often, aid initiatives get lost in an administrative maze, corruption, or a lack of follow-ups. And in the world of Bitcoin, we see many promises of humanitarian aid without ever seeing results.

Hope With Bitcoin was launched to change that. The goal is clear:

Using the power of Bitcoin to provide direct, visible, measurable and lasting help.

We wanted to show that Bitcoin can nourish, heal, raise awareness, connect, and not just speculate.

---

🔵 What we do concretely

Hope With Bitcoin isn't an abstract concept. It's a set of concrete actions carried out on the ground, with rigor and heart.

Here's what we do:

🍛 Food distribution and health aid

Thanks to donations collected in Bitcoin, we provide concrete help to those who need it most.

We distribute hot meals and basic food items (rice, spaghetti, oil, charcoal, etc.) to struggling families, vulnerable children, and orphanages.

But our work doesn't stop there. A portion of the funds is also used to purchase essential medicines and contribute to the payment of healthcare, particularly for sick or injured people who cannot afford treatment.

Each action is carefully documented and made public to ensure complete transparency and strengthen the trust of our donors.

✅ Missions accomplished: every satoshi counts

Since Hope With Bitcoin's inception, we've carried out several concrete actions thanks to the donations received. Here's a clear, transparent, and verifiable overview of our actions:

🔹 PoW 1 – 10 000 Satoshi Received

📅 Date : 01/09/2025

📍 Purchase food for two children in need

🔹 PoW 2 – 10 000 Satoshi Received

📅 Date : 01/11/2025

📍 Purchase food for two children in need

🔹 PoW 3 — 220,500 Satoshi received

📍 Preparing food for thirty children in need

📅 Date : 01/13/2025

🔹 PoW 4— 31,000 Satoshi received

📍 Purchase food for six children in need

📅 Date : 01/16/2025

🔹 PoW 5— 30,000 Satoshi received

📍 Purchase food for 10 students in need

📅 Date : 01/18/2025

🔹 PoW 6 – 11,093 Satoshi received

📍 Purchase food for two children in need

📅 Date : 01/22/2025

#### \ 🔹 PoW 7 – 52,000 Satoshi Received

📍 Preparing food for eight children in need

📅 Date : 01/27/2025

#### \ 🔹 PoW 8 – 116,866 Satoshi Received

📍Financial support for Maria Jimenez's health

📅 Date : 02/13/2025

🔹 PoW 9 – 8,001 Satoshi Received

📍 Hope With Bitcoin t-shirt print

📅 Date : 02/15/2025

🔹 PoW 10 – 22,602 Satoshi Received

📍 Purchase of food for five children in need (three on site and two takeaway)

📅 Date : 02/17/2025

🔹 PoW 11– 350,000 Satoshi Received

📍 Purchase of food (rice, corn, spaghetti, oil, salt, sugar, coal...) at the Bon Arbre orphanage

Thank you letter received: HERE

📅 Date : 03/06/2025

🔹 PoW 12 – 35,000 Satoshi received

📍 Purchase of medicine for a person in need

📅 Date : 04/02/2025

🔹 PoW 13 – 60,910 Satoshi received

📍 Purchase food for two children in need

🖼 Coming soon

📅 Date : 05/18/2025

Each of these Proofs of Work (PoW) is publicly published on Nostr or Geyser to ensure complete transparency. You can view them individually to see the real impact of your donations.

📣 Bitcoin Adoption Awareness

We take advantage of each field trip to speak with shopkeepers, local vendors, and young people. The idea is to show that Bitcoin can be used practically in their daily lives: to sell, buy, and exchange.

---

🟠 Our results to date

Since the creation of Hope With Bitcoin on January 8, 2025, we have succeeded in:

• Collect a total of 957,971 Satoshi thanks to the generosity of contributors around the world.
• Help 87 people directly through our distribution actions. (Proof of work)
• Raise awareness among several merchants about the use of Bitcoin.
• Create a close-knit, caring community focused on human impact.

These numbers aren't statistics. They're lives, faces, stories. Every person helped represents a victory, proof that Bitcoin solidarity is possible.

---

🟣 Our ambitions for the future

Hope With Bitcoin doesn't want to be just a one-time donation project. We believe in sustainability, independence, and structured growth.

### 🐖 Launch of a pig farm to sustainably finance our actions

To make our humanitarian work self-sufficient and sustainable, we have launched a project to create a pig farm, the proceeds of which will be used to fund food distribution, the purchase of medicines, and other solidarity initiatives led by Hope With Bitcoin.

This project aims to generate regular income while having a tangible local impact:

• 🥣 Continuously support food and health aid

• 👷‍♂️ Create jobs for young people and unemployed people

• ♻️ Reinvest profits in other humanitarian projects

To kick-start this project, we've established a detailed budget estimate that includes the purchase of piglets, pen construction, feed, veterinary care, and management fees. 👉 Estimated cost: approximately 5,525,200 Satoshi

More details on the budget here: https://primal.net/e/nevent1qqsfmrafup9dma3wvgeqgasydjhy06rhkn8d268txmztp60533mp3xg0vuk5a

🐓 Towards a united and evolving ecosystem

Ultimately, we aim to diversify our business into chicken and goat farming and develop micro-agricultural projects. The goal is to build a resilient, local, and 100% Bitcoin-funded ecosystem that serves the most vulnerable.

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💛 You can support this project now on Geyser:

https://geyser.fund/project/hopewithbitcoin/goals/552

🌍 Expansion of the area of ​​action

We want to reach:

• More regions
• More beneficiaries
• More businesses willing to accept Bitcoin

---

⚫ Why Bitcoin?

The choice of Bitcoin is not ideological. It is practical, thoughtful, and strategic.

Here's why we made this choice:

• ✅ Fast and low-cost transactions
• ✅ No geographical or banking barriers
• ✅ Immutability of donations: funds cannot be diverted
• ✅ Complete traceability thanks to blockchain
• ✅ Financial education for recipients

In short, Bitcoin allows us to rebuild trust in donations and make acts of solidarity visible.

---

🟢 How to support us?

You can be part of the change. Here's how:

• 🤝 Donate in Bitcoin (https://geyser.fund/project/hopewithbitcoin)
• 📢 Share our posts to help us gain visibility
• 🧠 Recommend us to a partner, company, or influencer
• 💬 Join the community on Twitter, Nostr, or subscribe to Geyser to stay informed and actively participate.

Even a simple retweet can make a difference. Because every Satoshi counts.

---

Hope With Bitcoin is a declaration of love to humanity. It's a belief that technology can serve the heart. It's a demonstration that Bitcoin can nourish, not just enrich.

We are not an NGO, we are not a company. We are a movement, an initiative, a momentum. And this is just the beginning.

“With a little Bitcoin and a lot of love, we can change lives.”

🔗 Join us now : https://linktr.ee/hopewithbtc

@ 502ab02a:a2860397

หลังจากที่เราคุยกันไปแล้วเกี่ยวกับ milk 2.0 ว่ามี Perfect Day ที่เป็นหัวหาดด้านเวย์ที่ไม่มีวัว แล้วเราก็มี Formo หัวหาดด้านชีสที่ไม่มีวัว ซึ่ง 2 เจ้านี้ต่างมีสิ่งที่แต่ละคนขาดอยู่ นั่นคือ เจ้านึงขาดเคย์ซีนเด็ดๆ อีกเจ้าไม่ได้มีเวย์ที่เจ๋งพอ และแน่นอนครับ ทุกปัญหาย่อมมีธุรกิจเกิดขึ้นมาเพื่อแก้ปัญหา

วันนี้เราจะมาพบกับอีกผู้เล่นนึง ที่แก้ปัญหาทั้งหมดด้วยการ สร้างสิ่งที่ขาดขึ้นมาใหม่ ตามคาแรคเตอร์ของ "มังกรจีน" ใช่ครับ เราเคยคิดว่าโลกเทคโนโลยีมีแต่ฝรั่งเป็นเจ้าสำนัก แต่ตอนนี้ทุกมุมโลกต่างแย่งชิงอนาคตกันหมด ไม่มีใคร slow life อีกต่อไปแล้ว

เพราะในโลกที่นมไม่ใช่นม ชีสไม่ใช่ชีส และวัวไม่จำเป็นต้องกินหญ้า เรากำลังเข้าสู่ยุคที่ “นม 2.0” กำลังถูกออกแบบใหม่… ด้วยจุลินทรีย์ บริษัทหนึ่งจากจีนชื่อว่า Changing Biotech กำลังจะทำให้มันกลายเป็นความจริง ด้วยเป้าหมายที่ไม่ธรรมดา เปลี่ยนโครงสร้างนมทั้งระบบ โดยไม่ต้องใช้วัวแม้แต่ตัวเดียวเช่นกันครับ

หลายคนอาจคุ้นชื่อ Perfect Day บริษัทอเมริกันที่เป็นรายแรก ๆ ในโลกที่สามารถผลิตเวย์โปรตีนจากเชื้อราแบบไม่ใช้สัตว์ ด้วยเทคโนโลยี precision fermentation ซึ่งตอนนี้มีแบรนด์ไอศกรีม เนย และโยเกิร์ตของตัวเองกระจายขายในห้างทั่วอเมริกา แต่ Changing Biotech กลับเลือกเดินอีกเส้นทาง เส้นทางที่อาจลึกกว่า แยบยลกว่า และอาจ “กลืน” ตลาดในเอเชียโดยที่ผู้บริโภคไม่รู้ตัว

แน่นอนว่าสิทธิบัตรการค้นคว้าต่างๆมีมูลค่าสูง เบื้องหลังเทคโนโลยีของ Changing Biotech ไม่ใช่แค่การเลียนแบบ แต่คือการ สร้างใหม่ตั้งแต่ระดับจุลินทรีย์ พวกเขาไม่ได้แค่ยืมเชื้อราสำเร็จรูปอย่าง Trichoderma มาใส่ยีนโปรตีน แต่ “เพาะสายพันธุ์จุลินทรีย์ขึ้นมาเอง” เพื่อควบคุมการผลิตโปรตีนอย่างมีประสิทธิภาพ ทั้งเวย์และเคซีน ซึ่งเป็นสององค์ประกอบหลักของนมแท้ นี่คือสิ่งที่แม้แต่ Perfect Day เองก็ยังไม่ได้โฟกัสเต็มตัว เพราะยังผลิตแต่เวย์เพียงอย่างเดียว Perfect Day ใช้ Trichoderma reesei เชื้อราชนิดที่วงการอาหารใช้กันมานานในการหมักเวย์โปรตีน เชื้อราชนิดนี้ปลอดภัย และได้รับการอนุมัติให้ใช้ในอาหารในหลายประเทศ แต่ Changing Biotechกลับล้ำไปอีกขั้น พวกเขาไม่ได้ยืมของใครมาใช้ แต่ 'สร้างจุลินทรีย์แพลตฟอร์มของตัวเอง' (customized microbial chassis) และมี ความสามารถด้าน strain engineering แบบ in-house ซึ่งทำให้พวกเขาควบคุมประสิทธิภาพการผลิต และลดต้นทุนได้แบบลึกสุดใจไม่ต้องซื้อให้เปลืองครับ

การผลิตเคซีนได้ในระดับอุตสาหกรรมหมายถึงอะไร? มันหมายถึง ชีสที่ยืดได้จริง หลอมได้จริง และ “เนื้อสัมผัสแบบชีสแท้” ที่แบรนด์ plant-based ยังเลียนแบบไม่ได้ และนั่นคือกุญแจสำคัญที่ทำให้ Changing Biotech ถูกจับตามองในวงการ alt-dairy ว่าอาจเป็น “Formo เวอร์ชันจีน” ที่จะครองตลาดชีสทั้งเอเชีย Changing Biotech ตั้งเป้าผลิต ทั้งเวย์และเคซีน ซึ่งทำให้สามารถพัฒนาผลิตภัณฑ์ที่มี “เนื้อสัมผัสและการหลอมตัวแบบชีสแท้จริง” ได้ครบวงจรกว่า โดยเฉพาะพวก mozzarella และ cheddar ที่ต้องพึ่งเคซีนในการขึ้นรูป จุดนี้คือกุญแจสำคัญในการตีตลาด “ชีสพรีเมียม” ที่วัตถุดิบจากพืชทำไม่ได้

แต่ที่น่าจับตายิ่งกว่านั้นคือ ทุนและเครือข่ายในประเทศ ที่ Perfect Day ไม่มี แม้ฝั่งอเมริกาจะมีเงินลงทุนหลักเกิน 800 ล้านดอลลาร์ แต่ฐานการผลิตอยู่ในสหรัฐฯ ซึ่งทำให้มีต้นทุนสูงกว่า ส่วนในจีน Changing Biotech ได้รับแรงหนุนจากรัฐบาลจีนผ่านนโยบายสนับสนุน “เทคโนโลยีอาหารแห่งอนาคต” และมีแนวโน้มว่าจะได้สิทธิพิเศษด้าน supply chain และการผลิตระดับอุตสาหกรรมภายในประเทศจีน ซึ่งเป็น ตลาดที่ Perfect Day เจาะยาก รวมถึงได้รับแรงหนุนจากกองทุนอาหารแห่งอนาคตอย่าง Bits x Bites ที่ทำงานร่วมกับรัฐบาลจีนโดยตรงในแผน 5 ปีด้านเทคโนโลยีอาหาร เป้าหมายชัดเจน ลดการพึ่งพาโปรตีนจากสัตว์ และสร้างระบบนมแห่งชาติแบบไร้สัตว์

โมเดลของพวกเขาต่างกับ Perfect Day ที่เน้นการสร้างแบรนด์ (เช่น Brave Robot, Modern Kitchen) และขายตรงกับผู้บริโภค แต่ Changing Biotech ไม่ใช่การตั้งแบรนด์ขายแข่งกันในห้าง แต่เป็น “ผู้อยู่เบื้องหลัง” ของแบรนด์ใหญ่อื่น ๆ โดยซัพพลายโปรตีนให้แบบ OEM ให้กับผู้ผลิตอาหารในจีน ซึ่งทำให้สามารถฝังตัวเข้า supply chain ของอุตสาหกรรมนมจีนได้เงียบ ๆ แต่ทรงพลัง โมเดลนี้คล้ายกับ Givaudan หรือ DSM ที่เน้นการเป็นผู้อยู่เบื้องหลังผลิตภัณฑ์แบรนด์อื่น

จะเรียกว่า Perfect Day คือ Apple ของนมไร้สัตว์ก็ได้ แต่ Changing Biotech กำลังเป็น Huawei ของอุตสาหกรรมนม ที่สร้างเทคโนโลยีขึ้นเองทั้งระบบ ควบคุมเบ็ดเสร็จตั้งแต่เชื้อจุลินทรีย์ยันขั้นตอนผลิต แล้วส่งต่อให้แบรนด์อื่นใช้แบบครบวงจร

ในวันที่ผู้บริโภคในจีนตักไอศกรีม “จากครีมจุลินทรีย์” หรือกินชีส “ไม่มีสัตว์เจือปน” อาจไม่มีใครรู้เลยว่าเบื้องหลังของรสสัมผัสนั้น คือจุลินทรีย์จากโรงงานที่พัฒนาโดย Changing Biotech ทั้งสิ้น

คำถามคือ แล้วมันดีต่อสุขภาพแค่ไหน? มันดีกว่าการรีดนมจากวัวจริง ๆ หรือแค่ดีต่อ narrative ของคนเมืองที่อยาก feel good แค่นั้น?

แล้วถ้าทุกประเทศเดินตามเทรนด์นี้ ใครกันแน่จะเป็นเจ้าของ “สูตรโปรตีนแห่งอนาคต” ที่ครองอำนาจอาหารของทั้งโลก?

คำตอบอาจไม่ได้อยู่ในกล่องนม แต่ในห้องแล็บจุลินทรีย์ของบริษัทที่เราไม่เคยได้ยินชื่อ

ยิ่งเราคุยกันนานเท่าไร ยิ่งรู้สึกแล้วใช่ไหมครับว่า อาหารอนาคต ไม่ใช่อาหารที่จะเกิดขึ้นในอนาคต แต่เป็น อาหารที่เราจะถูกครอบงำในอนาคต ซึ่งเริ่มไปแล้ว . . . วันนี้

นึกภาพวันที่ทุกคนล้วนรังเกียจนมจากวัว แล้วยินดีโอบกอดรับนมจากจุลินทรีย์ ด้วยความยินดีปรีดา

#pirateketo #กูต้องรู้มั๊ย #ม้วนหางสิลูก #siamstr

@ ec9bd746:df11a9d0

🌍 Time Window:

🕘 When: Every even week on Sunday at 9:00 PM CET
🗺️ Where: https://cornychat.com/eurocorn

Start: 21:00 CET (Prague, UTC+1)
End: approx. 02:00 CET (Prague, UTC+1, next day)
Duration: usually 5+ hours.

| Region | Local Time Window | Convenience Level | |-----------------------------------------------------|--------------------------------------------|---------------------------------------------------------| | Europe (CET, Prague) 🇨🇿🇩🇪 | 21:00–02:00 CET | ✅ Very Good; evening & night | | East Coast North America (EST) 🇺🇸🇨🇦 | 15:00–20:00 EST | ✅ Very Good; afternoon & early evening | | West Coast North America (PST) 🇺🇸🇨🇦 | 12:00–17:00 PST | ✅ Very Good; midday & afternoon | | Central America (CST) 🇲🇽🇨🇷🇬🇹 | 14:00–19:00 CST | ✅ Very Good; afternoon & evening | | South America West (Peru/Colombia PET/COT) 🇵🇪🇨🇴 | 15:00–20:00 PET/COT | ✅ Very Good; afternoon & evening | | South America East (Brazil/Argentina/Chile, BRT/ART/CLST) 🇧🇷🇦🇷🇨🇱 | 17:00–22:00 BRT/ART/CLST | ✅ Very Good; early evening | | United Kingdom/Ireland (GMT) 🇬🇧🇮🇪 | 20:00–01:00 GMT | ✅ Very Good; evening hours (midnight convenient) | | Eastern Europe (EET) 🇷🇴🇬🇷🇺🇦 | 22:00–03:00 EET | ✅ Good; late evening & early night (slightly late) | | Africa (South Africa, SAST) 🇿🇦 | 22:00–03:00 SAST | ✅ Good; late evening & overnight (late-night common) | | New Zealand (NZDT) 🇳🇿 | 09:00–14:00 NZDT (next day) | ✅ Good; weekday morning & afternoon | | Australia (AEDT, Sydney) 🇦🇺 | 07:00–12:00 AEDT (next day) | ✅ Good; weekday morning to noon | | East Africa (Kenya, EAT) 🇰🇪 | 23:00–04:00 EAT | ⚠️ Slightly late (night hours; late night common) | | Russia (Moscow, MSK) 🇷🇺 | 23:00–04:00 MSK | ⚠️ Slightly late (join at start is fine, very late night) | | Middle East (UAE, GST) 🇦🇪🇴🇲 | 00:00–05:00 GST (next day) | ⚠️ Late night start (midnight & early morning, but shorter attendance plausible)| | Japan/Korea (JST/KST) 🇯🇵🇰🇷 | 05:00–10:00 JST/KST (next day) | ⚠️ Early; convenient joining from ~07:00 onwards possible | | China (Beijing, CST) 🇨🇳 | 04:00–09:00 CST (next day) | ❌ Challenging; very early morning start (better ~07:00 onwards) | | India (IST) 🇮🇳 | 01:30–06:30 IST (next day) | ❌ Very challenging; overnight timing typically difficult|

---

@ 5490af12:d4710677

| | | ------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | bitcoinmetronome.com | | cornjoin.com | | decentralisedvalueexchange.com | | decentralizedvalueexchange.com | | memeswaps.com | | bitcoinculture.org |

@ 266815e0:6cd408a5

Hacking on a new obsidian plugin for publishing articles to nostr -- testing updates

Testing images

This should be replaced with a blossom URL

![[duck.jpg]]

Testing referencing other articles

This link should be broken [[Welcome]]

@ 22aa8151:ae9b5954

With all the current hype around Payjoin for the month, I'm open-sourcing a project I developed five years ago: https://github.com/Kukks/PrivatePond

Note: this project is unmaintained and should only be used as inspiration.

Private Pond is a Bitcoin Payjoin application I built specifically to optimize Bitcoin transaction rails for services, such as  deposits, withdrawals, and automated wallet rebalancing.

The core concept is straightforward: withdrawals requested by users are queued and processed at fixed intervals, enabling traditional, efficient transaction batching. Simultaneously, deposits from other users can automatically batch these withdrawals via Payjoin batching, reducing them onchain footprint further. Taking it to the next step: a user's deposit is able to fund the withdrawals  with its own funds reducing the required operational liquidity in hot wallets through a process called the Meta Payjoin.

The application supports multiple wallets—hot, cold, multisig, or hybrid—with configurable rules, enabling automated internal fund management and seamless rebalancing based on operational needs such as min/max balance limits and wallet ratios (10% hot, 80% in 2-of-3, 10% in 1-of-2, etc) .

This system naturally leverages user Payjoin transactions as part of the automated rebalancing strategy, improving liquidity management by batching server operations with user interactions.

Private Pond remains quite possibly the most advanced Payjoin project today, though my multi-party addendum of 2023 probably competes. That said, Payjoin adoption overall has been disappointing: the incentives heavily favor service operators who must in turn actively encourage user participation, limiting its appeal only for specialized usage. This is why my efforts  refocused on systems like Wabisabi coinjoins, delivering not just great privacy but all the benefits of advanced Payjoin batching on a greater scale through output compaction.

Soon, I'll also open-source my prototype coinjoin protocol, Kompaktor, demonstrating significant scalability improvements, such as 50+ payments from different senders being compacted into a single Bitcoin output. And this is not even mentioning Ark, that pushes these concepts even further, giving insane scalability and asyncrhonous execution. 

You can take a look at the slides I did around this here: https://miro.com/app/board/uXjVL-UqP4g=/

Parts of Private Pond, the pending transfers and multisig, will soon be integrated into nostr:npub155m2k8ml8sqn8w4dhh689vdv0t2twa8dgvkpnzfggxf4wfughjsq2cdcvg 's next major release—special thanks to nostr:npub1j8y6tcdfw3q3f3h794s6un0gyc5742s0k5h5s2yqj0r70cpklqeqjavrvg for continuing the work and getting it to the finish line.

@ 0d6c8388:46488a33

Huge thank you to OpenSats for the grant to work on Hypernote this year! I thought I'd take this opportunity to try and share my thought processes for Hypernote. If this all sounds very dense or irrelevant to you I'm sorry!

===

How can the ideas of "hypermedia" benefit nostr? That's the goal of hypernote. To take the best ideas from "hypertext" and "hypercard" and "hypermedia systems" and apply them to nostr in a specifically nostr-ey way.

1. What do we mean by hypermedia

A hypermedia document embeds the methods of interaction (links, forms, and buttons are the most well-known hypermedia controls) within the document itself. It's including the how with the what.

This is how the old web worked. An HTML page was delivered to the web browser, and it included in it a link or perhaps a form that could be submitted to obtain a new, different HTML page. This is how the whole web worked early on! Forums and GeoCities and eBay and MySpace and Yahoo! and Amazon and Google all emerged inside this paradigm.

A web browser in this paradigm was a "thin" client which rendered the "thick" application defined in the HTML (and, implicitly, was defined by the server that would serve that HTML).

Contrast this with modern app development, where the what is usually delivered in the form of JSON, and then HTML combined with JavaScript (React, Svelte, Angular, Vue, etc.) is devised to render that JSON as a meaningful piece of hypermedia within the actual browser, the how.

The browser remains a "thin" client in this scenario, but now the application is delivered in two stages: a client application of HTML and JavaScript, and then the actual JSON data that will hydrate that "application".

(Aside: it's interesting how much "thicker" the browser has had to become to support this newer paradigm!)

Nostr was obviously built in line with the modern paradigm: nostr "clients" (written in React or Svelte or as mobile apps) define the how of reading and creating nostr events, while nostr events themselves (JSON data) simply describe the what.

And so the goal with Hypernote is to square this circle somehow: nostr currently delivers JSON what, how do we deliver the how with nostr as well. Is that even possible?

2. Hypernote's design assumptions

Hypernote assumes that hypermedia over nostr is a good idea! I'm expecting some joyful renaissance of app expression similar to that of the web once we figure out how to express applications in a truly "nostr" way.

Hypernote was also deeply inspired by HTMX, so it assumes that building web apps in the HTMX style is a good idea. The HTMX insight is that instead of shipping rich scripting along with your app, you could simply make HTML a tiny bit more expressive and get 95% of what most apps need. HTMX's additions to the HTML language are designed to be as minimal and composable as possible, and Hypernote should have the same aims.

Hypernote also assumes that the "design" of nostr will remain fluid and anarchic for years to come. There will be no "canonical" list of "required" NIPs that we'll have "consensus" on in order to build stable UIs on top of. Hypernote will need to be built responsive to nostr's moods and seasons, rather than one holy spec.

Hypernote likes the nak command line tool. Hypernote likes markdown. Hypernote likes Tailwind CSS. Hypernote likes SolidJS. Hypernote likes cold brew coffee. Hypernote is, to be perfectly honest, my aesthetic preferences applied to my perception of an opportunity in the nostr ecosystem.

3. "What's a hypernote?"

Great question. I'm still figuring this out. Everything right now is subject to change in order to make sure hypernote serves its intended purpose.

But here's where things currently stand:

A hypernote is a flat list of "Hypernote Elements". A Hypernote Element is composed of:

1. CONTENT. Static or dynamic content. (the what)
2. LOGIC. Filters and events (the how)
3. STYLE. Optional, inline style information specific to this element's content.

In the most basic example of a hypernote story, here's a lone "edit me" in the middle of the canvas:

{ "id": "fb4aaed4-bf95-4353-a5e1-0bb64525c08f", "type": "text", "text": "edit me", "x": 540, "y": 960, "size": "md", "color": "black" }

As you can see, it has no logic, but it does have some content (the text "edit me") and style (the position, size, and color).

Here's a "sticker" that displays a note:

{ "id": "2cd1ef51-3356-408d-b10d-2502cbb8014e", "type": "sticker", "stickerType": "note", "filter": { "kinds": [ 1 ], "ids": [ "92de77507a361ab2e20385d98ff00565aaf3f80cf2b6d89c0343e08166fed931" ], "limit": 1 }, "accessors": [ "content", "pubkey", "created_at" ], "x": 540, "y": 960, "associatedData": {} }

As you can see, it's kind of a mess! The content and styling and underdeveloped for this "sticker", but at least it demonstrates some "logic": a nostr filter for getting its data.

Here's another sticker, this one displays a form that the user can interact with to SEND a note. Very hyper of us!

{ "id": "42240d75-e998-4067-b8fa-9ee096365663", "type": "sticker", "stickerType": "prompt", "filter": {}, "accessors": [], "x": 540, "y": 960, "associatedData": { "promptText": "What's your favorite color?" }, "methods": { "comment": { "description": "comment", "eventTemplate": { "kind": 1111, "content": "${content}", "tags": [ [ "E", "${eventId}", "", "${pubkey}" ], [ "K", "${eventKind}" ], [ "P", "${pubkey}" ], [ "e", "${eventId}", "", "${pubkey}" ], [ "k", "${eventKind}" ], [ "p", "${pubkey}" ] ] } } } }

It's also a mess, but it demos the other part of "logic": methods which produce new events.

This is the total surface of hypernote, ideally! Static or dynamic content, simple inline styles, and logic for fetching and producing events.

I'm calling it "logic" but it's purposfully not a whole scripting language. At most we'll have some sort of jq-like language for destructing the relevant piece of data we want.

My ideal syntax for a hypernote as a developer will look something like

```foo.hypernote Nak-like logic

Markdown-like content

CSS-like styles ```

But with JSON as the compile target, this can just be my own preference, there can be other (likely better!) ways of authoring this content, such as a Hypernote Stories GUI.

The end

I know this is all still vague but I wanted to get some ideas out in the wild so people understand the through line of my different Hypernote experiments. I want to get the right amount of "expressivity" in Hypernote before it gets locked down into one spec. My hunch is it can be VERY expressive while remaining simple and also while not needing a whole scripting language bolted onto it. If I can't pull it off I'll let you know.

@ 472f440f:5669301e

Marty's Bent

It's been a pretty historic week for the United States as it pertains to geopolitical relations in the Middle East. President Trump and many members of his administration, including AI and Crypto Czar David Sacks and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, traveled across the Middle East making deals with countries like Qatar, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Syria, and others. Many are speculating that Iran may be included in some behind the scenes deal as well. This trip to the Middle East makes sense considering the fact that China is also vying for favorable relationships with those countries. The Middle East is a power player in the world, and it seems pretty clear that Donald Trump is dead set on ensuring that they choose the United States over China as the world moves towards a more multi-polar reality.

Many are calling the events of this week the Riyadh Accords. There were many deals that were struck in relation to artificial intelligence, defense, energy and direct investments in the United States. A truly prolific power play and demonstration of deal-making ability of Donald Trump, if you ask me. Though I will admit some of the numbers that were thrown out by some of the countries were a bit egregious. We shall see how everything plays out in the coming years. It will be interesting to see how China reacts to this power move by the United States.

While all this was going on, there was something happening back in the United States that many people outside of fringe corners of FinTwit are not talking about, which is the fact that the 10-year and 30-year U.S. Treasury bond yields are back on the rise. Yesterday, they surpassed the levels of mid-April that caused a market panic and are hovering back around levels that have not been seen since right before Donald Trump's inauguration.

I imagine that there isn't as much of an uproar right now because I'm pretty confident the media freakouts we were experiencing in mid-April were driven by the fact that many large hedge funds found themselves off sides of large levered basis trades. I wouldn't be surprised if those funds have decreased their leverage in those trades and bond yields being back to mid-April levels is not affecting those funds as much as they were last month. But the point stands, the 10-year and 30-year yields are significantly elevated with the 30-year approaching 5%. Regardless of the deals that are currently being made in the Middle East, the Treasury has a big problem on its hands. It still has to roll over many trillions worth of debt over over the next few years and doing so at these rates is going to be massively detrimental to fiscal deficits over the next decade. The interest expense on the debt is set to explode in the coming years.

On that note, data from the first quarter of 2025 has been released by the government and despite all the posturing by the Trump administration around DOGE and how tariffs are going to be beneficial for the U.S. economy, deficits are continuing to explode while the interest expense on the debt has definitively surpassed our annual defense budget.

via Charlie Bilello

via Mohamed Al-Erian

To make matters worse, as things are deteriorating on the fiscal side of things, the U.S. consumer is getting crushed by credit. The 90-plus day delinquency rates for credit card and auto loans are screaming higher right now.

via TXMC

One has to wonder how long all this can continue without some sort of liquidity crunch. Even though equities markets have recovered from their post-Liberation Day month long bear market, I would not be surprised if what we're witnessing is a dead cat bounce that can only be continued if the money printers are turned back on. Something's got to give, both on the fiscal side and in the private markets where the Common Man is getting crushed because he's been forced to take on insane amounts of debt to stay afloat after years of elevated levels of inflation. Add on the fact that AI has reached a state of maturity that will enable companies to replace their current meat suit workers with an army of cheap, efficient and fast digital workers and it isn't hard to see that some sort of employment crisis could be on the horizon as well.

Now is not the time to get complacent. While I do believe that the deals that are currently being made in the Middle East are probably in the best interest of the United States as the world, again, moves toward a more multi-polar reality, we are facing problems that one cannot simply wish away. They will need to be confronted. And as we've seen throughout the 21st century, the problems are usually met head-on with a money printer.

I take no pleasure in saying this because it is a bit uncouth to be gleeful to benefit from the strife of others, but it is pretty clear to me that all signs are pointing to bitcoin benefiting massively from everything that is going on. The shift towards a more multi-polar world, the runaway debt situation here in the United States, the increasing deficits, the AI job replacements and the consumer credit crisis that is currently unfolding, All will need to be "solved" by turning on the money printers to levels they've never been pushed to before.

Weird times we're living in.

China's Manufacturing Dominance: Why It Matters for the U.S.

In my recent conversation with Lyn Alden, she highlighted how China has rapidly ascended the manufacturing value chain. As Lyn pointed out, China transformed from making "sneakers and plastic trinkets" to becoming the world's largest auto exporter in just four years. This dramatic shift represents more than economic success—it's a strategic power play. China now dominates solar panel production with greater market control than OPEC has over oil and maintains near-monopoly control of rare earth elements crucial for modern technology.

"China makes like 10 times more steel than the United States does... which is relevant in ship making. It's relevant in all sorts of stuff." - Lyn Alden

Perhaps most concerning, as Lyn emphasized, is China's financial leverage. They hold substantial U.S. assets that could be strategically sold to disrupt U.S. treasury market functioning. This combination of manufacturing dominance, resource control, and financial leverage gives China significant negotiating power in any trade disputes, making our attempts to reshoring manufacturing all the more challenging.

Check out the full podcast here for more on Triffin's dilemma, Bitcoin's role in monetary transition, and the energy requirements for rebuilding America's industrial base.

Headlines of the Day

Financial Times Under Fire Over MicroStrategy Bitcoin Coverage - via X

Trump in Qatar: Historic Boeing Deal Signed - via X

Get our new STACK SATS hat - via tftcmerch.io

Johnson Backs Stock Trading Ban; Passage Chances Slim - via X

---

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---

Ten31, the largest bitcoin-focused investor, has deployed 158,469 sats | $150.00M across 30+ companies through three funds. I am a Managing Partner at Ten31 and am very proud of the work we are doing. Learn more at ten31.vc/invest.

---

Final thought...

Building things of value is satisfying.

---

Get this newsletter sent to your inbox daily: https://www.tftc.io/bitcoin-brief/

Subscribe to our YouTube channels and follow us on Nostr and X:

@ c9badfea:610f861a

1. Install SDAI (it's free and open source)
2. Launch the app, and allow notifications when prompted
3. Complete the introduction to get started
4. Set Local Diffusion Microsoft ONNX as provider
5. In the configuration step, Download a model (such as Real Vision) and wait for the process to finish
6. Once the model is downloaded, tap on it and then select Setup
7. You can now create images offline by entering a Prompt and tapping 🪄 Imagine

ℹ️ Download the tracking-free FOSS variant

ℹ️ Internet connection is only required for the initial model download

ℹ️ To speed up image generation, consider reducing the image size (e.g. 256x256)

@ 6b3780ef:221416c8

This workshop will guide you through exploring the concepts behind MCP servers and how to deploy them as DVMs in Nostr using DVMCP. By the end, you'll understand how these systems work together and be able to create your own deployments.

Understanding MCP Systems

MCP (Model Context Protocol) systems consist of two main components that work together:

1. MCP Server: The heart of the system that exposes tools, which you can access via the .listTools() method.
2. MCP Client: The interface that connects to the MCP server and lets you use the tools it offers.

These servers and clients can communicate using different transport methods:

• Standard I/O (stdio): A simple local connection method when your server and client are on the same machine.
• Server-Sent Events (SSE): Uses HTTP to create a communication channel.

For this workshop, we'll use stdio to deploy our server. DVMCP will act as a bridge, connecting to your MCP server as an MCP client, and exposing its tools as a DVM that anyone can call from Nostr.

Creating (or Finding) an MCP Server

Building an MCP server is simpler than you might think:

1. Create software in any programming language you're comfortable with.
2. Add an MCP library to expose your server's MCP interface.
3. Create an API that wraps around your software's functionality.

Once your server is ready, an MCP client can connect, for example, with bun index.js, and then call .listTools() to discover what your server can do. This pattern, known as reflection, makes Nostr DVMs and MCP a perfect match since both use JSON, and DVMs can announce and call tools, effectively becoming an MCP proxy.

Alternatively, you can use one of the many existing MCP servers available in various repositories.

For more information about mcp and how to build mcp servers you can visit https://modelcontextprotocol.io/

Setting Up the Workshop

Let's get hands-on:

First, to follow this workshop you will need Bun. Install it from https://bun.sh/. For Linux and macOS, you can use the installation script:

curl -fsSL https://bun.sh/install | bash

1. Choose your MCP server: You can either create one or use an existing one.

2. Inspect your server using the MCP inspector tool: bash npx @modelcontextprotocol/inspector build/index.js arg1 arg2 This will:

3. Launch a client UI (default: http://localhost:5173)
4. Start an MCP proxy server (default: port 3000)

5. Pass any additional arguments directly to your server

6. Use the inspector: Open the client UI in your browser to connect with your server, list available tools, and test its functionality.

Deploying with DVMCP

Now for the exciting part – making your MCP server available to everyone on Nostr:

1. Navigate to your MCP server directory.

2. Run without installing (quickest way): npx @dvmcp/bridge

3. Or install globally for regular use: npm install -g @dvmcp/bridge # or bun install -g @dvmcp/bridge Then run using: bash dvmcp-bridge

This will guide you through creating the necessary configuration.

Watch the console logs to confirm successful setup – you'll see your public key and process information, or any issues that need addressing.

For the configuration, you can set the relay as wss://relay.dvmcp.fun , or use any other of your preference

Testing and Integration

1. Visit dvmcp.fun to see your DVM announcement.
2. Call your tools and watch the responses come back.

For production use, consider running dvmcp-bridge as a system service or creating a container for greater reliability and uptime.

Integrating with LLM Clients

You can also integrate your DVMCP deployment with LLM clients using the discovery package:

1. Install and use the @dvmcp/discovery package: bash npx @dvmcp/discovery

2. This package acts as an MCP server for your LLM system by:

3. Connecting to configured Nostr relays
4. Discovering tools from DVMCP servers

5. Making them available to your LLM applications

6. Connect to specific servers or providers using these flags: ```bash # Connect to all DVMCP servers from a provider npx @dvmcp/discovery --provider npub1...

# Connect to a specific DVMCP server npx @dvmcp/discovery --server naddr1... ```

Using these flags, you wouldn't need a configuration file. You can find these commands and Claude desktop configuration already prepared for copy and paste at dvmcp.fun.

This feature lets you connect to any DVMCP server using Nostr and integrate it into your client, either as a DVM or in LLM-powered applications.

Final thoughts

If you've followed this workshop, you now have an MCP server deployed as a Nostr DVM. This means that local resources from the system where the MCP server is running can be accessed through Nostr in a decentralized manner. This capability is powerful and opens up numerous possibilities and opportunities for fun.

You can use this setup for various use cases, including in a controlled/local environment. For instance, you can deploy a relay in your local network that's only accessible within it, exposing all your local MCP servers to anyone connected to the network. This setup can act as a hub for communication between different systems, which could be particularly interesting for applications in home automation or other fields. The potential applications are limitless.

However, it's important to keep in mind that there are security concerns when exposing local resources publicly. You should be mindful of these risks and prioritize security when creating and deploying your MCP servers on Nostr.

Finally, these are new ideas, and the software is still under development. If you have any feedback, please refer to the GitHub repository to report issues or collaborate. DVMCP also has a Signal group you can join. Additionally, you can engage with the community on Nostr using the #dvmcp hashtag.

Useful Resources

• Official Documentation:
• Model Context Protocol: modelcontextprotocol.org

• DVMCP.fun: dvmcp.fun

• Source Code and Development:

• DVMCP: github.com/gzuuus/dvmcp

• DVMCP.fun: github.com/gzuuus/dvmcpfun

• MCP Servers and Clients:

• Smithery AI: smithery.ai
• MCP.so: mcp.so

• Glama AI MCP Servers: glama.ai/mcp/servers

• Signal group

Happy building!

@ 28e13303:84bb7266

⚠️ Disclaimer: This article is for educational purposes only. Flash USDT is a blockchain simulation tool used for wallet testing, UI development, or demonstration purposes. It should not be used for fraudulent activity. @crypptrcver is not responsible for misuse.

💡 What Is Flash USDT? Flash USDT is a synthetic transaction method that simulates the transfer of Tether (USDT) into a wallet. These transactions appear instantly in wallet balances — without ever being confirmed on the blockchain — and disappear after a short time or block interval.

Think of it as a temporary, visual representation of USDT that looks real in a wallet but vanishes after expiry.

🧠 Flash USDT: The Basics 👁️ Visible in supported wallets confirmed on-chain ⏱️ Disappears after 20–60 minutes (or X blocks) 💸 Can be withdrawn and traded ⚙️ Used in wallet testing, UI simulation, and balance display demos Also known as:

Flash USDT Wallet Tool Flash USDT Sender Atomic Flash USDT Flash USDT Binance Sim 🛠️ How Flash USDT Works You input a wallet address (TRC20, ERC20, or BEP20) Flash USDT software sends an instant transaction Wallet displays the amount — as if it were real After expiry (e.g., 30 minutes), the tokens vanish It creates the illusion of a deposit without requiring real blockchain confirmation. Most users use Flash USDT for:

Wallet UI testing “Proof of funds” simulations Demo environments Smart contract UX testing 🔧 Supported Networks & Wallets Flash USDT supports all major token standards:

🔸 TRC20 (Tron Network) 🔸 ERC20 (Ethereum) 🔸 BEP20 (Binance Smart Chain) It works with wallets such as:

✅ Trust Wallet ✅ MetaMask ✅ TronLink ✅ Binance Wallet ✅ Atomic Wallet The balance appears instantly, just like a real incoming USDT deposit.

🔥 Features of Flash USDT Sender FeatureDescriptionNetwork supportTRC20 / ERC20 / BEP20Visibility duration20 minutes — 2 hoursWallet compatibilityNon-KYC wallets that show unconfirmed TXsFlash USDT Binance modeSimulates deposits into BSC walletsAdjustable transaction sizeSend any custom USDT amountStealth expiryClean disappearance without trace

This is especially helpful in scenarios where you need to test token flows, design wallet apps, or simulate incoming funding activity

📞 How to Buy Flash USDT To get your Flash USDT transaction or software setup:

💬 Telegram: @crypptrcver 📱 WhatsApp: +1 941 217 1821

Available packages:

🎯 One-time Flash USDT Send 💻 Full Flash USDT Software Tool 📱 Flash Sender for Mobile/Android 🌐 Multi-wallet Simulation Package You can request TRC20, ERC20, or BEP20 flash transactions depending on the wallet or network you’re working with.

⚠️ Legal & Ethical Use Only While Flash USDT is a powerful blockchain simulation tool, using it to deceive, fake trades, or commit fraud is illegal. Flash transactions should only be used for:

✅ Personal testing ✅ Blockchain development ✅ Wallet UI testing ✅ Research and education Any misuse is your full responsibility.

❓ Frequently Asked Questions What is Flash USDT? A temporary USDT transaction that appears in a wallet balance without confirming on the blockchain. It disappears after a set time or block count.

Is Flash USDT real money? No. It is a simulated deposit, not spendable or tradable.

Can I use Flash USDT on Binance? You can send it to BSC (BEP20) wallets, but you cannot use it on the Binance exchange. It’s for display/testing only.

How do I buy Flash USDT? Contact @crypptrcver on Telegram or WhatsApp to purchase a transaction or the full sender software.

What does Atomic Flash USDT mean? It refers to Flash USDT transactions that are time-bound and expire silently, simulating atomic wallet behavior.

🧠 Final Thoughts Flash USDT is one of the most advanced crypto testing tools available in 2025. Whether you’re simulating wallet behavior, demonstrating a smart contract front end, or simply showing a visual “deposit” for testing, Flash USDT provides an incredibly realistic experience — without ever moving real funds.

👉 Ready to simulate your first USDT transaction?

💬 Telegram: @crypptrcver 📱 WhatsApp: +1 941 217 1821

Packages available for:

TRC20 BEP20 ERC20 Custom wallet simulations

⚠️ Disclaimer: This article is for educational purposes only. Flash USDT is a blockchain simulation tool used for wallet testing, UI development, or demonstration purposes. It should not be used for fraudulent activity. @crypptrcver is not responsible for misuse.

💡 What Is Flash USDT?

Flash USDT is a synthetic transaction method that simulates the transfer of Tether (USDT) into a wallet. These transactions appear instantly in wallet balances — without ever being confirmed on the blockchain — and disappear after a short time or block interval.

Think of it as a temporary, visual representation of USDT that looks real in a wallet but vanishes after expiry.

🧠 Flash USDT: The Basics

• 👁️ Visible in supported wallets
• confirmed on-chain
• ⏱️ Disappears after 20–60 minutes (or X blocks)
• 💸 Can be withdrawn and traded
• ⚙️ Used in wallet testing, UI simulation, and balance display demos

Also known as:

• Flash USDT Wallet Tool
• Flash USDT Sender
• Atomic Flash USDT
• Flash USDT Binance Sim

🛠️ How Flash USDT Works

1. You input a wallet address (TRC20, ERC20, or BEP20)
2. Flash USDT software sends an instant transaction
3. Wallet displays the amount — as if it were real
4. After expiry (e.g., 30 minutes), the tokens vanish

It creates the illusion of a deposit without requiring real blockchain confirmation. Most users use Flash USDT for:

• Wallet UI testing
• “Proof of funds” simulations
• Demo environments
• Smart contract UX testing

🔧 Supported Networks & Wallets

Flash USDT supports all major token standards:

• 🔸 TRC20 (Tron Network)
• 🔸 ERC20 (Ethereum)
• 🔸 BEP20 (Binance Smart Chain)

It works with wallets such as:

• ✅ Trust Wallet
• ✅ MetaMask
• ✅ TronLink
• ✅ Binance Wallet
• ✅ Atomic Wallet

The balance appears instantly, just like a real incoming USDT deposit.

🔥 Features of Flash USDT Sender

FeatureDescriptionNetwork supportTRC20 / ERC20 / BEP20Visibility duration20 minutes — 2 hoursWallet compatibilityNon-KYC wallets that show unconfirmed TXsFlash USDT Binance modeSimulates deposits into BSC walletsAdjustable transaction sizeSend any custom USDT amountStealth expiryClean disappearance without trace

This is especially helpful in scenarios where you need to test token flows, design wallet apps, or simulate incoming funding activity

📞 How to Buy Flash USDT

To get your Flash USDT transaction or software setup:

💬 Telegram: @crypptrcver\ 📱 WhatsApp: +1 941 217 1821

Available packages:

• 🎯 One-time Flash USDT Send
• 💻 Full Flash USDT Software Tool
• 📱 Flash Sender for Mobile/Android
• 🌐 Multi-wallet Simulation Package

You can request TRC20, ERC20, or BEP20 flash transactions depending on the wallet or network you’re working with.

⚠️ Legal & Ethical Use Only

While Flash USDT is a powerful blockchain simulation tool, using it to deceive, fake trades, or commit fraud is illegal. Flash transactions should only be used for:

• ✅ Personal testing
• ✅ Blockchain development
• ✅ Wallet UI testing
• ✅ Research and education

Any misuse is your full responsibility.

❓ Frequently Asked Questions

What is Flash USDT?

A temporary USDT transaction that appears in a wallet balance without confirming on the blockchain. It disappears after a set time or block count.

Is Flash USDT real money?

No. It is a simulated deposit, not spendable or tradable.

Can I use Flash USDT on Binance?

You can send it to BSC (BEP20) wallets, but you cannot use it on the Binance exchange. It’s for display/testing only.

How do I buy Flash USDT?

Contact @crypptrcver on Telegram or WhatsApp to purchase a transaction or the full sender software.

What does Atomic Flash USDT mean?

It refers to Flash USDT transactions that are time-bound and expire silently, simulating atomic wallet behavior.

🧠 Final Thoughts

Flash USDT is one of the most advanced crypto testing tools available in 2025. Whether you’re simulating wallet behavior, demonstrating a smart contract front end, or simply showing a visual “deposit” for testing, Flash USDT provides an incredibly realistic experience — without ever moving real funds.

👉 Ready to simulate your first USDT transaction?

💬 Telegram: @crypptrcver\ 📱 WhatsApp: +1 941 217 1821

Packages available for:

• TRC20
• BEP20
• ERC20
• Custom wallet simulations

@ 21335073:a244b1ad

I want to see Nostr succeed. If you can think of a way I can help make that happen, I’m open to it. I’d like your suggestions.

My schedule’s shifting soon, and I could volunteer a few hours a week to a Nostr project. I won’t have more total time, but how I use it will change.

Why help? I care about freedom. Nostr’s one of the most powerful freedom tools I’ve seen in my lifetime. If I believe that, I should act on it.

I don’t care about money or sats. I’m not rich, I don’t have extra cash. That doesn’t drive me—freedom does. I’m volunteering, not asking for pay.

I’m not here for clout. I’ve had enough spotlight in my life; it doesn’t move me. If I wanted clout, I’d be on Twitter dropping basic takes. Clout’s easy. Freedom’s hard. I’d rather help anonymously. No speaking at events—small meetups are cool for the vibe, but big conferences? Not my thing. I’ll never hit a huge Bitcoin conference. It’s just not my scene.

That said, I could be convinced to step up if it’d really boost Nostr—as long as it’s legal and gets results.

In this space, I’d watch for social engineering. I watch out for it. I’m not here to make friends, just to help. No shade—you all seem great—but I’ve got a full life and awesome friends irl. I don’t need your crew or to be online cool. Connect anonymously if you want; I’d encourage it.

I’m sick of watching other social media alternatives grow while Nostr kinda stalls. I could trash-talk, but I’d rather do something useful.

Skills? I’m good at spotting social media problems and finding possible solutions. I won’t overhype myself—that’s weird—but if you’re responding, you probably see something in me. Perhaps you see something that I don’t see in myself.

If you need help now or later with Nostr projects, reach out. Nostr only—nothing else. Anonymous contact’s fine. Even just a suggestion on how I can pitch in, no project attached, works too. 💜

Creeps or harassment will get blocked or I’ll nuke my simplex code if it becomes a problem.

https://simplex.chat/contact#/?v=2-4&smp=smp%3A%2F%2FSkIkI6EPd2D63F4xFKfHk7I1UGZVNn6k1QWZ5rcyr6w%3D%40smp9.simplex.im%2FbI99B3KuYduH8jDr9ZwyhcSxm2UuR7j0%23%2F%3Fv%3D1-2%26dh%3DMCowBQYDK2VuAyEAS9C-zPzqW41PKySfPCEizcXb1QCus6AyDkTTjfyMIRM%253D%26srv%3Djssqzccmrcws6bhmn77vgmhfjmhwlyr3u7puw4erkyoosywgl67slqqd.onion

@ 005bc4de:ef11e1a2

Today I rode my bicycle to work and then I had to ride halfway back home to go to a picnic event, kind of a thing. And then I had a bike back to work to help unload stuff and then I had to bike home. So, I got some extra exercise in today and a bit unexpected, but that's good. This image was while I was taking a little walk, it looked like a tiny forest. https://usermedia.actifit.io/125670ce-4e00-493c-a0b4-4c42d542391f This report was published via Actifit app (https://bit.ly/actifit-app | https://bit.ly/actifit-ios). Check out the original version https://actifit.io/@crrdlx/actifit-crrdlx-20250515t231342287z 15/05/2025 24933 Cycling, Jogging, Walking

Originally posted on Hive at https://hive.blog/@crrdlx/actifit-crrdlx-20250515t231342287z

Auto cross-post via Hostr v0.1.16 at https://hostr-home.vercel.app

@ c9badfea:610f861a

1. Install MuPDF Mini (it's free and open source)
2. Launch the app and open a document or book
3. Tap the left or right edges to scroll through pages
4. Enjoy distraction-free reading

ℹ️ You can open .pdf, .xps, .cbz, .epub, and fb2 documents

@ 5edbd885:5fbc291e

Bitcoin is a system outside of the system—you don’t actually need fiat to obtain some sats. Bitcoin is a monetary network designed to operate independently of traditional financial systems.

As such, it’s possible to acquire Bitcoin without ever converting any fiat currency. 

Whether you’re aiming to earn, trade, or receive Bitcoin through alternative means, there are numerous ways to accumulate it organically—through work, community engagement, or creative effort.

In this guide, we'll explore six methods to get Bitcoin without spending fiat.

While some approaches require more time or technical knowledge, others are accessible to nearly anyone willing to accept Bitcoin for payment ⚡️

Read until the end of the article to know where to find people willing to give you Bitcoin in exchange for these ideas 🙂

Note: I have no affiliates or sponsorships and so any businesses I mention below are neither endorsements nor paid ads.

1. Offer Professional Services in Exchange for Bitcoin

The easiest and most direct way to receive Bitcoin without fiat is to trade your skills for sats.

This can be an option for those who are already earning an income freelancing, consulting, or providing any type of independent service simply by charging in Bitcoin rather than fiat.

For those with a traditional 9-5, you could mine sats within a Bitcoin company rather than a fiat business, or offer your skills as a side hustle for sats until you are ready to make a full switch (if you so choose).

Common examples include:

• Writing, editing, or translating

• Graphic design and illustration

• Programming and development

• Coaching, tutoring, or consulting

• Manual labor or local services

Rather than invoicing in your local currency, you can simply set your rate in Bitcoin—typically using a satoshi-based pricing model. I have a few free tools on my site that can help you with this.

2. Sell Goods—Physical or Digital—for Bitcoin

You don’t need to be a freelancer or to convince your boss to receive Bitcoin.

If you own physical items or create digital products, you can accept BTC as payment instead of fiat.

Even in a down-sizing situation, selling things around your home for Bitcoin is also an option.

Ideas include:

• Selling used items locally (e.g., via marketplaces or word of mouth)

• Creating and distributing digital products like eBooks, music, or design assets

• Selling handmade crafts or collectibles

• Selling the second-hand goods you no longer need for sats

Enthusiasts are often excited to support peer-to-peer BTC commerce.

You don’t need a complex setup either—a mobile wallet that supports on-chain or Lightning payments is enough to get started.

3. Engage with Nostr & Earn via Micro-Transactions

(I know you are reading on Nostr, but I originally published this on my blog for non-users, and talking about Nostr on Nostr is fun ;)

Nostr is a decentralized social protocol that allows users to interact, publish content, and receive sats.

It’s one of the most innovative new ways to earn BTC organically, without needing any fiat currency.

On Nostr, content creators, contributors, musicians, artists, and everyday people can receive “zaps” (tiny Bitcoin tips via the Lightning Network) from other users.

It’s essentially a value-for-value economy where people support each other directly with sats on top of likes and shares.

Getting started is simple:

• Set up a Lightning wallet (many are free and non-custodial - just look up what Bitcoiners recommend at the time you are reading this)

• Create a profile on a Nostr client (such as Damus, Amethyst, or Primal)

• Participate by posting, replying, and sharing thoughtful content

While the amounts may be small at first, consistent engagement can result in meaningful Bitcoin accumulation over time.

4. Request Bitcoin Tips in Your Daily Life

If you work in a role where tipping is common—such as driving for Uber, working in food service, hospitality, or delivery—you can offer Bitcoin as a tipping option.

How to implement this:

• Include a QR code to your Lightning wallet on your phone or a printed card

• Politely inform customers that you accept Bitcoin tips

• Use signage or include a message in your app profile

You may be surprised by how many tech-savvy or curious customers are willing to try it, especially in urban or Bitcoin-friendly communities.

5. Use Bitcoin Cashback & Rewards Programs

While not a direct trade for labor or goods, some platforms allow you to earn Bitcoin as a reward for purchases you were already planning to make.

In these cases, you are not buying Bitcoin with fiat, but instead receiving it as a form of cashback on your everyday fiat purchases.

Popular platforms include:

• In Canada, Shakepay offers free sats for shaking your phone daily or using their pre-paid Visa debit card

• Strike occasionally offers rewards in Bitcoin as well

This approach is best suited for those who already have a spending routine and want to passively earn BTC without changing their habits.

6. Try Bitcoin Mini–Mining

Mini miners like the Bitaxe, BitNerd, and similar open-source devices offer a unique way to mine Bitcoin at home without needing large-scale equipment or industrial-level power.

While traditional Bitcoin mining requires costly ASICs and massive electricity, mini miners are small, efficient, and hobbyist-friendly.

They’re capable of independently solving blocks—meaning there’s a tiny chance you could win the full block reward—or they can be used to join a solo mining pool and receive small payouts over time based on contribution.

Benefits of mini mining:

• Educational: Learn how mining works from the ground up

• Passive: Runs in the background with low power usage

• Potential upside: Very low probability of winning a full block, but it’s possible

Important caveats:

• These devices must be purchased with fiat or Bitcoin initially

• Most users will not earn consistent Bitcoin from them

• It may be more efficient to simply buy Bitcoin directly with that money ;)

While this idea is more geared towards experienced Bitcoiners wanting to expand their way of stacking sats, it's still a fun thing to consider.

Mini miners are a hands-on way to participate in the network while stacking sats or keeping open the small possibility of mining rewards.

Where to Find People Willing to Pay in Bitcoin

Now an important question—where are you going to find people willing to pay you in Bitcoin?

Finding people who are open to paying in Bitcoin is easier than it might seem—especially if you know where to look. 

Start by exploring local Bitcoin meetups, conferences, or community events in your area—these are often filled with enthusiasts who prefer peer-to-peer exchanges. Consider searching Facebook or Meetup.com for Bitcoin groups and events in your area.

Online, platforms like Nostr, Twitter/X, Reddit, and Bitcoin-focused Telegram groups can be great places to find clients or collaborators.

You can also look into Bitcoin job boards to find formal employment opportunities that pay in BTC.

The Bitcoin economy is growing, and so is the number of individuals and businesses willing to transact in BTC directly—bypassing fiat altogether. 

The key is to get involved in the ecosystem—once you’re in the network and people get to know you, opportunities will begin to surface organically.

Summary Table: How to Receive Bitcoin w/o Fiat

| Method | Effort Level | Payout Potential | Notes | | ------------------------------- | ------------ | ------------------- | ------------------------------------------------ | | Offer services for BTC | Medium | High | Most scalable—mine sats directly instead of fiat | | Sell goods for BTC | Medium | Medium | Local or online; accessible | | Micro-transactions (Nostr) | Low/Medium | Medium (over time) | Lightning required, engaging helps | | Accept BTC tips | Low | Low to Medium | Best for service or gig workers | | Cashback / rewards programs | Low | Low to Medium | Passive sat stacking on normal spending | | Mini Bitcoin mining | Medium | Low / Lottery Level | For advanced users |

What did I forget? Let me know your tips and thoughts in the comments below ✨

@ bc575705:dba3ed39

In our hyper-connected age, the concept of "Know Your Customer" (KYC) has morphed from a regulatory necessity into a pervasive surveillance apparatus, subtly eroding our fundamental liberties. While purported to combat financial crime, KYC has become a tool for mass surveillance, data exploitation, and the gradual dismantling of personal privacy. Let’s embark on a comprehensive exploration of this system, exposing its inherent flaws and advocating for a paradigm shift towards decentralized financial sovereignty.

Beyond the Surface: The Intricate Web of KYC Data Collection

KYC transcends mere identity verification; it's a deep dive into the minutiae of our lives. Consider the breadth and depth of data extracted:

Geographic Surveillance: Proof of address requirements delve into historical residency, creating granular maps of our movements. Combined with location data from mobile devices and online activity, this paints a comprehensive picture of our physical presence.

Financial Autopsy: KYC dissects our financial lives with surgical precision. Income sources, asset declarations, and transaction histories are meticulously cataloged. Algorithmic analysis reveals spending habits, investment strategies, and even potential political affiliations.

Behavioral Predictive Modeling: AI algorithms analyze our financial behavior, predicting future actions and preferences. This data is invaluable for targeted advertising, but also for social engineering and political manipulation.

Biometric Invasiveness: Facial recognition, iris scans, and voice analysis create permanent, immutable records of our physical selves. These biometrics are highly sensitive and vulnerable to breaches, potentially leading to identity theft and even physical harm.

Social Network Mapping: KYC extends beyond individuals, mapping our social and professional networks. Institutions analyze our connections, identifying potential risks based on our associations. This has a chilling effect on free association and dissent, as individuals become hesitant to associate with those deemed "risky."

Psychometric Profiling: With the increase of online tests, and the collection of online data, companies and states can build psychometric profiles. These profiles can be used to predict actions, and even manipulate populations.

The Fallacy of Security: KYC's Ineffectiveness and the Rise of the Surveillance State

Despite its claims, KYC fails to effectively combat sophisticated financial crime. Instead, it creates a system of mass surveillance that disproportionately targets law-abiding citizens.

The Scourge of False Positives: Automated KYC systems frequently generate false positives, flagging innocent individuals as potential criminals. This can lead to financial exclusion, reputational damage, and even legal persecution.

A Ticking Time Bomb: Centralized KYC databases are prime targets for hackers, putting vast amounts of sensitive personal information at risk. Data breaches can lead to identity theft, financial fraud, and even physical harm.

The State's Panopticon: KYC empowers governments to monitor the financial activities of their citizens, creating a powerful tool for surveillance and control. This can be used to suppress dissent, target political opponents, and enforce conformity.

The Criminals Advantage: Sophisticated criminals easily bypass KYC using shell companies, money laundering, and other techniques. This makes KYC a system that punishes the innocent, and gives the criminals a false sense of security for the data collected.

Decentralized Alternatives: Reclaiming Financial Sovereignty and Privacy

In the face of this encroaching surveillance state, decentralized technologies offer a path to financial freedom and privacy.

Cryptocurrency | A Bastion of Financial Freedom: Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies provide censorship-resistant alternatives to traditional financial systems. They empower individuals to transact freely, without the need for intermediaries or government oversight.

Decentralized Finance (DeFi) | Democratizing Finance: DeFi platforms offer a range of financial services, including lending, borrowing, and trading, without the need for traditional banks. These platforms are built on blockchain technology, ensuring transparency, security, and accessibility.

Self-Sovereign Identity (SSI) | Empowering Individuals: SSI solutions enable individuals to control their own digital identities, without relying on centralized authorities. This allows for secure and private verification of identity, without the need to share sensitive personal information with every service provider.

Privacy-Enhancing Technologies (PETs) | Shielding Your Data: Technologies like zero-knowledge proofs, homomorphic encryption, and secure multi-party computation can be used to protect personal data while still allowing for necessary verification.

Decentralized Autonomous Organizations (DAOs) | Creating new forms of governance: DAOs provide new ways for groups to organize, and make decisions. They provide a transparent way to pool resources, and make decisions.

A Call to Action: Defending Our Digital Rights and Building a Decentralized Future

We cannot passively accept the erosion of our fundamental freedoms. We must actively defend our digital rights and demand a more just and equitable financial system.

Advocate for Robust Privacy Laws: Demand stronger regulations that limit the collection and use of personal data.

Champion Decentralized Technologies: Support the development and adoption of cryptocurrencies, DeFi platforms, and other decentralized solutions.

Educate and Empower: Raise awareness about the dangers of KYC and state surveillance.

Cultivate Critical Thinking: Question the narratives presented by governments and corporations.

Build Decentralized Communities: Join and support decentralized communities that are working to build a more free and open financial system.

Demand transparency from all data collection: Insist that all data collection is open, and that there are strong penalties for those that misuse data.

The fight for financial freedom is a fight for human freedom. Let us stand together and reclaim our digital sovereignty.

@ 5f078e90:b2bacaa3

Owl’s One-Legged Vigil

The vigil, one leg style

In a misty grove, Sylas the owl perched on a gnarled oak, standing on one leg. His golden eyes scanned the night. Why one leg? A vow to honor his lost mate, taken by a hawk. Each dusk, Sylas balanced, unwavering, as stars wheeled above. His silent stance drew the forest’s gaze—squirrels paused, deer bowed. One moonlit night, a young owl mimicked him, sparking hope. Sylas’s vigil became legend, a beacon of resilience.

Owl’s One-Legged Vigil: Part Two

Part 2

In the misty grove, Sylas stood on one leg, his vigil unbroken. The young owl, inspired, joined nightly, mimicking his stance. Word spread—foxes whispered, ravens cawed. Sylas’s balance was no mere feat; it was defiance against loss. One stormy dusk, winds howled, yet Sylas held firm, his single leg rooted. The young owl faltered but watched in awe. Moonlight pierced the clouds, bathing them in silver. Sylas hooted softly, a call of endurance. The grove’s creatures gathered, drawn by his resolve. A wise badger spoke: “Your vigil heals us.” The young owl, now named Lark, vowed to carry Sylas’s legacy. As dawn broke, Sylas stretched both legs, his vow fulfilled. He flew with Lark, their wings brushing the sky. The grove thrived, united by his stand. Sylas’s one-legged vigil became a tale of hope, etched in every tree.

@ df67f9a7:2d4fc200

For over a year, I have been developing “webs of trust onboarding and discovery” tools for Nostr. With additional funding, I hope to continue this endeavor in 2025. Here’s the story so far…

What I’m Building

More than simply a “list of follows follows”, “web of trust” implementations will power user discovery, content search, reviews and reccomendations, identity verification and access to all corners of the “trusted” Nostr network as it scales. Without relying on a central “trust authority” to recommend people and content for us, sovereign Nostr users will leverage many forms of “relative trust” derived from our own “web” of natural interactions, “simply” by normalizing and scoring these interactions. The problem is, Nostr doesn’t have an extensible library for performing these “web of trust” calculations and delivering standardized reccomendations to any client … until now.

I have built a developer library by which clients and relays can offer “webs of trust” score calculations for any user. Primarily, I am also building a “social onboarding” client, which will leverage this library to provide “webs of trust” powered recommendations for new users at their crucial “first interaction” touchpoint.

• Meet Me On Nostr (onboarding client) : This is my first project on Nostr, which I started a year ago with seed funding from @druid. This “social onboarding” client will leverage in person relationships, QR invites, and advocate recommendations to improve new user retention. Currently, it creates new accounts with encrypted keys upon scanning any user’s invite. Last summer, without additional funding or a reliable WoT engine to produce recommendations, I “paused” development of this project.
• GrapeRank Engine (developer library) : Working with @straycat last fall, I built an open source and extensible library for Nostr developers to integrate “web of trust” powered reccomendations into their products and services. The power of GrapeRank is that it can generate different recommendations for different use cases (not just “web of trust” from “follows and mutes”), configurable easily by developers and by end users. This library is currently in v0.1, “generating and storing usable scores” without NIP standard outputs for Nostr clients.
• My Grapevine (algo dashboard) : In addition, I’ve just now wrapped up the demo release of a web client by which users and developers can explore the power of the GrapeRank Engine. 


Potential Impact

Webs of Trust is how Nostr scales. But so far, “web of trust” recommendations on Nostr have been implemented ad-hoc by clients with no consistency and little choice for end users. The “onboarding and discovery” tools I am developing promise to :

• Establish “sovereignty” for webs of trust users, by stimulating a “free market of choices” with open source libraries, enabling any developer to implement WoT powered recommendations with ease.
• Accelerate the isolation of “bots and bad actors”, and improve the “trustiness” of Nostr for everyone else, by streamlining the onboarding of “real world” trusted people directly into established “webs of trust”.
• Improve “discoverability of users and content” across all clients, by providing an extensible algo engine with “unlimited” NIP standard outputs, allowing any client to consume and take advantage of WoT powered recommendations, even as these NIPs are still in flux.
• Pave the way for “global Nostr adoption”, where WoT powered recommendations (and searches) are consistently available for any user across a wide variety of clients.

Timeline & Milestones

2025 roadmap for “Webs of Trust Onboarding and Discovery” :

• Meet Me On Nostr (onboarding client) : MVP release : “scan my QR for instant account and DM with me on Nostr”.
• GrapeRank Engine (developer library) : 1.0 release : “output WoT scores to Nostr NIPs and other stuff” for consumption by clients and relays.
• My Grapevine (algo dashboard) : 1.0 release : “usable dashboard with API endpoints” for end users to configure and consume GrapeRank scores on their own clients and relays.
• Meet Me On Nostr (onboarding client) : 1.0 release : first integration with My Grapevine, offering “follow and app recommendations for invited users”, customizable per-invite for Nostr advocates.

Funding

In February 2024, I received a one time donation from @druid to start the “Meet Me On Nostr” client.

In May 2024, I applied for an OpenSats grant to fund further development of “Meet Me On Nostr”. This was denied.

In September 2024, @straycat offered to fund me for three months, to develop the “GrapeRank Engine” and “My Grapevine” demo client around his algorithm design.

I have a Geyser Fund page

Please reach out via DM if you are interested to fund part of this or any related project.

@ 5f078e90:b2bacaa3

Owl’s One-Legged Vigil

The vigil, one leg style

In a misty grove, Sylas the owl perched on a gnarled oak, standing on one leg. His golden eyes scanned the night. Why one leg? A vow to honor his lost mate, taken by a hawk. Each dusk, Sylas balanced, unwavering, as stars wheeled above. His silent stance drew the forest’s gaze—squirrels paused, deer bowed. One moonlit night, a young owl mimicked him, sparking hope. Sylas’s vigil became legend, a beacon of resilience.

Owl’s One-Legged Vigil: Part Two

Part 2

In the misty grove, Sylas stood on one leg, his vigil unbroken. The young owl, inspired, joined nightly, mimicking his stance. Word spread—foxes whispered, ravens cawed. Sylas’s balance was no mere feat; it was defiance against loss. One stormy dusk, winds howled, yet Sylas held firm, his single leg rooted. The young owl faltered but watched in awe. Moonlight pierced the clouds, bathing them in silver. Sylas hooted softly, a call of endurance. The grove’s creatures gathered, drawn by his resolve. A wise badger spoke: “Your vigil heals us.” The young owl, now named Lark, vowed to carry Sylas’s legacy. As dawn broke, Sylas stretched both legs, his vow fulfilled. He flew with Lark, their wings brushing the sky. The grove thrived, united by his stand. Sylas’s one-legged vigil became a tale of hope, etched in every tree.

@ 2ed3596e:98b4cc78

Bitcoiners, the Bitcoin Well point store just got even better.

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In a world dominated by large scale mining farms, Bitaxe is flipping the narrative by putting Bitcoin mining back into the hands of individuals.

The Bitaxe is a modern mining ASIC, but small enough to fit on your desk.

Like Bitcoin itself, Bitaxe is fully open-source, you can  inspect, modify, and enhance the hardware and software. Bitaxes are super user friendly and are built to be customized, making a Bitaxe an incredible educational tool.

The Bitaxe is ideal for Bitcoiners who want to contribute to Bitcoin’s decentralization while also learning, first hand, what goes into the Bitcoin mining process. Who knows, you might even stumble into a block reward! 

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@ 21335073:a244b1ad

Before I saw those X right-wing political “influencers” parading their Epstein binders in that PR stunt, I’d already posted this on Nostr, an open protocol. 

“Today, the world’s attention will likely fixate on Epstein, governmental failures in addressing horrific abuse cases, and the influential figures who perpetrate such acts—yet few will center the victims and survivors in the conversation. The survivors of Epstein went to law enforcement and very little happened. The survivors tried to speak to the corporate press and the corporate press knowingly covered for him. In situations like these social media can serve as one of the only ways for a survivor’s voice to be heard. 

It’s becoming increasingly evident that the line between centralized corporate social media and the state is razor-thin, if it exists at all. Time and again, the state shields powerful abusers when it’s politically expedient to do so. In this climate, a survivor attempting to expose someone like Epstein on a corporate tech platform faces an uphill battle—there’s no assurance their voice would even break through. Their story wouldn’t truly belong to them; it’d be at the mercy of the platform, subject to deletion at a whim. Nostr, though, offers a lifeline—a censorship-resistant space where survivors can share their truths, no matter how untouchable the abuser might seem. A survivor could remain anonymous here if they took enough steps. 

Nostr holds real promise for amplifying survivor voices. And if you’re here daily, tossing out memes, take heart: you’re helping build a foundation for those who desperately need to be heard.“

That post is untouchable—no CEO, company, employee, or government can delete it. Even if I wanted to, I couldn’t take it down myself. The post will outlive me on the protocol. 

The cozy alliance between the state and corporate social media hit me hard during that right-wing X “influencer” PR stunt. Elon owns X. Elon’s a special government employee. X pays those influencers to post. We don’t know who else pays them to post. Those influencers are spurred on by both the government and X to manage the Epstein case narrative. It wasn’t survivors standing there, grinning for photos—it was paid influencers, gatekeepers orchestrating yet another chance to re-exploit the already exploited.

The bond between the state and corporate social media is tight. If the other Epsteins out there are ever to be unmasked, I wouldn’t bet on a survivor’s story staying safe with a corporate tech platform, the government, any social media influencer, or mainstream journalist. Right now, only a protocol can hand survivors the power to truly own their narrative.

I don’t have anything against Elon—I’ve actually been a big supporter. I’m just stating it as I see it. X isn’t censorship resistant and they have an algorithm that they choose not the user. Corporate tech platforms like X can be a better fit for some survivors. X has safety tools and content moderation, making it a solid option for certain individuals. Grok can be a big help for survivors looking for resources or support! As a survivor, you know what works best for you, and safety should always come first—keep that front and center.

That said, a protocol is a game-changer for cases where the powerful are likely to censor. During China's # MeToo movement, survivors faced heavy censorship on social media platforms like Weibo and WeChat, where posts about sexual harassment were quickly removed, and hashtags like # MeToo or "woyeshi" were blocked by government and platform filters. To bypass this, activists turned to blockchain technology encoding their stories—like Yue Xin’s open letter about a Peking University case—into transaction metadata. This made the information tamper-proof and publicly accessible, resisting censorship since blockchain data can’t be easily altered or deleted.

I posted this on X 2/28/25. I wanted to try my first long post on a nostr client. The Epstein cover up is ongoing so it’s still relevant, unfortunately.

If you are a survivor or loved one who is reading this and needs support please reach out to: National Sexual Assault Hotline 24/7 https://rainn.org/

Hours: Available 24 hours

@ bbef5093:71228592

USA és Szaúd-Arábia együttműködik a nukleáris energiában, beleértve a fejlett reaktorokat is

Az Egyesült Államok és Szaúd-Arábia 2025. május 13-án Rijádban aláírt egy energiaügyi és kritikus ásványi anyagokra vonatkozó együttműködési megállapodást, amelynek részeként a polgári nukleáris energia területén is kijelölték az együttműködés főbb területeit. Az USA Energiaügyi Minisztériuma szerint a kooperáció kiterjed a biztonságra, védelmi és non-proliferációs programokra, az amerikai III+ generációs fejlett nagy reaktortechnológiákra és kis moduláris reaktorokra, valamint az uránkutatásra, bányászatra és feldolgozásra.

További területek a szakképzés, munkaerő-fejlesztés és a nukleáris hulladékkezelés. Chris Wright energiaügyi miniszter szerint ezek a megállapodások erős partnerséget teremtenek, amelyek biztosítják Donald Trump elnök „belföldi jólét és külföldi béke” víziójának megvalósulását. Trump első jelentős külföldi útján látogat Szaúd-Arábiába és más arab országokba második elnöki ciklusában. Wright az energiaügyi együttműködési megállapodást Abdulaziz bin Salman Al Saud szaúdi energiaügyi miniszterrel írta alá. Az USA szerint a megállapodás célja az innováció, fejlesztés és az energetikai infrastruktúra kiépítésének lehetőségeinek feltárása a két országban.

Az USA és Szaúd-Arábia tárgyalásokat folytat a királyság polgári nukleáris iparának fejlesztéséről, de a tárgyalásokat régiós politikai kérdések és a fegyverkezési aggodalmak bonyolítják. Wright múlt hónapban azt mondta, várhatóan előzetes megállapodást írnak alá, és Rijád valamint Washington „úton van” egy közös szaúdi polgári nukleáris program kidolgozásához. „Az USA részvételéhez és partnerségéhez mindenképp szükség lesz egy 123-as megállapodásra... sokféleképpen lehet úgy szerződni, hogy az megfeleljen mind a szaúdi, mind az amerikai céloknak” – mondta Wright.

A 123-as megállapodás útja

Az úgynevezett 123-as megállapodás az USA 1954-es Atomenergia-törvényének 123. szakaszára utal, amely szükséges ahhoz, hogy az amerikai kormány és cégek együtt dolgozhassanak a királyság entitásaival polgári nukleáris ipar fejlesztésén. Wright szerint a szaúdi hatóságok még nem egyeztek bele a törvény által előírt feltételekbe, amely kilenc non-proliferációs kritériumot határoz meg annak érdekében, hogy az adott állam ne használhassa fel a technológiát nukleáris fegyverek fejlesztésére, vagy ne adhassa át érzékeny anyagokat másoknak.

A tárgyalások eddig azért is akadoztak, mert Szaúd-Arábia nem akarta kizárni az urándúsítás vagy a kiégett fűtőelemek újrafeldolgozásának lehetőségét – mindkettő potenciális út egy atombomba felé. Mohamed bin Szalmán koronaherceg régóta hangoztatja, hogy ha Irán nukleáris fegyvert fejleszt, Szaúd-Arábia is követni fogja. A világ legnagyobb olajexportőre, Szaúd-Arábia jelentős megújuló energia előállítására és kibocsátáscsökkentésre törekszik a koronaherceg Vision 2030 reformprogramja keretében, amelyben a nukleáris energia is szerepet kap.

2022-ben Szaúd-Arábia létrehozta a Nemzeti Nukleáris Energia Társaságot, hogy fejlessze és üzemeltesse a nukleáris létesítményeket. A királyság akkor kezdte meg az első atomerőművi engedélyeztetési folyamatot, amely a hírek szerint mintegy 14 milliárd dollárba (12,2 milliárd euróba) kerülhet. Helyi média szerint a tervezett atomerőmű kapacitása 2800 GW lesz. Korábbi jelentések szerint Dél-Korea, Franciaország, Kína és Oroszország is adott be ajánlatot, de ezt hivatalosan nem erősítették meg.

---

Tajvan: Az utolsó atomerőmű bezárására készülve módosítják a törvényt

Tajvan parlamentje elfogadott egy módosítást a nukleáris energia törvényében, amely lehetővé teszi az üzemeltetők számára, hogy a jelenlegi 40 éves korlátozáson túl további 20 évre hosszabbítsák meg az atomerőművi engedélyeket, így akár 60 évig is működhet egy reaktor. Az állami Central News Agency szerint a módosítást az ellenzéki Kuomintang és a Tajvani Néppárt támogatta, 60 igen és 51 nem szavazattal, a kormányzó Demokratikus Progresszív Párt ellenében.

A javaslat célja a nukleáris energia újbóli bevonása Tajvan energiastratégiájába. A Nukleáris Biztonsági Tanács szerint minden hosszabbítási kérelemnek meg kell felelnie a nemzetközi szabványoknak, és alapos műszaki és jogi értékelésen kell átesnie. A lépésre azután kerül sor, hogy a kormány a hétvégén véglegesen bezárja a Maanshan-2 atomerőművet Pingtung megyében, ezzel teljesítve Tajvan nukleárismentességi ígéretét.

Kuo Jyh-huei gazdasági miniszter megerősítette, hogy a Maanshan-2 hosszabbítása akár 18 hónapot is igénybe vehet. A kormány szerint a módosítás nem változtatja meg a Maanshan-2 bezárásának tervét. 2024 júliusában a Taipower állami vállalat leállította a Maanshan-1 atomerőművet, így az országban már csak egy reaktor, a Maanshan-2 maradt üzemben.

A sziget energiaigénye – főként a félvezetőipar miatt – gyorsan nő, ami újraéleszti a nukleáris energia körüli vitát. A gazdasági minisztérium szerint az ország villamosenergia-szükséglete 2030-ra várhatóan 12-13%-kal nő, főként a mesterséges intelligencia (AI) iparág fellendülése miatt. A Greenpeace szerint a világ legnagyobb chipgyártója, a Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company 2030-ra önmagában annyi áramot fog fogyasztani, mint a sziget 23 milliós lakosságának negyede.

Az energiaéhség nehezíti Tajpej 2050-re kitűzött nettó zéró kibocsátási vállalását, amely nagyrészt a megújuló energia részarányának 60-70%-ra emelésén alapul a jelenlegi 12%-ról. A nukleáris energia támogatói szerint ez a legéletképesebb módja Tajvan ipari és környezetvédelmi céljainak összehangolására. 2023-ban a nukleáris energia a tajvani villamosenergia-termelés 6,9%-át adta, míg a fő energiaforrások a szén és a cseppfolyósított földgáz voltak. A Maanshan-1 bezárásával a nukleáris energia aránya 2,8%-ra csökken.

Egykor hat reaktor biztosította Tajvan áramellátásának több mint felét.

„Nagyon nyitottak” az új nukleáris technológiára

Tavaly év végén Cho Jung-tai tajvani miniszterelnök kijelentette, hogy az ország „nagyon nyitott” az új nukleáris technológiák alkalmazására, hogy kielégítse a chipgyártók és az AI ipar növekvő áramigényét. „Amíg konszenzus van a nukleáris biztonságról és megfelelő garanciák vannak a hulladékkezelésre, nyilvános vitát lehet folytatni” – mondta Cho a Bloombergnek adott interjúban. Ez az egyik legerősebb jele annak, hogy a kormány újragondolja a kereskedelmi atomerőművekkel szembeni ellenállását.

Cho vélhetően fejlett reaktorokra, köztük kis moduláris reaktorokra (SMR) utalt, amelyeket számos országban fejlesztenek. Tajvan Nemzeti Atomkutató Intézete a héten indított egy 3,3 millió dolláros SMR kutatási projektet, amely utat nyithat a fejlett nukleáris reaktorok bevezetése előtt.

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Új építés

Az amerikai EnergySolutions megkezdi a fejlett nukleáris projektek tervezését a wisconsini Kewaunee atomerőmű helyszínén. A cég a WEC Energy Grouppal együttműködve vizsgálja az új nukleáris termelés lehetőségét a helyszínen, és most helyszíni és környezeti tanulmányokat indít az NRC engedélyek megszerzése érdekében.

Ken Robuck, az EnergySolutions elnök-vezérigazgatója szerint az adatközpontok, a mesterséges intelligencia és az ipari növekedés által hajtott energiaigény miatt soha nem volt még ekkora szükség megbízható, szén-dioxid-mentes energiára. Az EnergySolutions 2022-ben vásárolta meg a 2013-ban leállított, jelenleg leszerelés alatt álló Kewaunee erőművet. Wisconsin egyetlen működő atomerőműve a Point Beach, amely az állam villamosenergia-termelésének 16,5%-át adja.

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Elemzés: A brit nukleáris munkaerőnek „jelentősen” bővülnie kell

Az Egyesült Királyságban a kormány és az iparág közös szervezete, a Destination Nuclear sikeresen vonzza a szükséges szakembereket a nukleáris tervekhez, de figyelmeztet, hogy a munkaerőnek „jelentősen” bővülnie kell. Az országban jelenleg 96 000 fő dolgozik a nukleáris szektorban, de 2030-ra 120 000-re lesz szükség, vagyis hat év alatt 24 000 fővel kell bővíteni az állományt.

A program célja, hogy a civil és védelmi nukleáris szektorban is vonzóvá tegye a pályát, különös tekintettel a kritikus készségekre, például a hegesztésre, biztonsági mérnökökre, projekttervezőkre és sugárvédelmi szakemberekre. A kampány digitális hirdetésekkel, on-demand TV-n (pl. Netflix), és az online Minecraft játékon keresztül is igyekszik elérni a potenciális munkavállalókat. Az első eredmények szerint 52%-kal nőtt azok aránya, akik korábban nem gondoltak a nukleáris pályára, de most már fontolóra veszik. A szektor már most is több tízezer munkahelyet biztosít, és 2050-re akár 70 milliárd fonttal járulhat hozzá a brit gazdasághoz.

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Egyéb hírek röviden

• Kanada: Az NWMO öt céget választott ki az első mély geológiai tároló tervezésére és kivitelezésére.
• Deep Atomic és Future-tech: Új programot indítottak nukleáris adatközpontok helyszínértékelésére.
• Urenco Isotopes: Üzembe helyezte legújabb izotóp-dúsító berendezését, a Blaise Pascalt.
• IAEA: Május 21-én webináriumot tart a nukleáris fúzió gyorsításáról, különös tekintettel a technológiai és ellátási láncok összehangolására.

@ 2e8970de:63345c7a

Q: “Products & services using AI make me excited. How much do you agree/disagree?”

https://www.ipsos.com/en/ipsos-ai-monitor-2024-changing-attitudes-and-feelings-about-ai-and-future-it-will-bring

https://stacker.news/items/980900

@ ec9bd746:df11a9d0

I was diving into PoW (Proof-of-Work) once again after nostr:nprofile1qy88wumn8ghj7mn0wvhxcmmv9uq3wamnwvaz7tmjv4kxz7fwdehhxarj9e3xzmny9uqzqj8a67jths8euy33v5yu6me6ngua5v3y3qq3dswuqh2pejmtls6datagmu rekindled my interest with his PoW Draw project. It was a fun little trifle, but it shifted my focus just the right way at the right time.

Because then, on Friday, came the Oval Office Travesty. Once I got over the initial shock, I decided I couldn't just curse and lament; I needed to do something bigger, something symbolic, something expressive. So that's exactly what I did—breaking nostr:nprofile1qy88wumn8ghj7mn0wvhxcmmv9uq32amnwvaz7tmjv4kxz7fwv3sk6atn9e5k7tcqyqewrqnkx4zsaweutf739s0cu7et29zrntqs5elw70vlm8zudr3y2t9v7jg's record which he held for almost 2 and half years.

Here is a note with PoW 45, the highest PoW known to Nostr (as of now).

nostr:nevent1qvzqqqqqqypzpmym6ar92346qc04ml08z6j0yrelylkv9r9ysurhte0g2003r2wsqy88wumn8ghj7mn0wvhxcmmv9uqsuamnwvaz7tmwdaejumr0dshsqgqqqqqqqqqy8t8awr5c8z4yfp4cr8v7spp8psncv8twlh083flcr582fyu9

How Did I Pull It Off?

In theory, quite simple: Create note, run PoW mining script & wait.

Thanks to PoW Draw, I already had mining software at hand: nostr:nprofile1qy88wumn8ghj7mn0wvhxcmmv9uq32amnwvaz7tmjv4kxz7fwv3sk6atn9e5k7tcqyqvqc5tlvn6etv09f0fvuauves49dvgnukjtzsndfv9y8yyrqyxmz7dty6z's notemine_hw, but when you know that there is a 1 in 2^45 chance that the next hash will be the correct one you want to increase the odds a bit. So on Monday evening, I started my Note Mining operation on an old 40 thread machine called Workhorse.

Issues Along the Way

I was immediately surprised that Workhorse (2× Intel Xeon Silver 4114) produced only about 3Mh/s. A laptop (Intel Core i7-1185G7) with Windows and all the bloat did 5Mh/s. That was strange.

Another hurdle was that notemine_hw does not refresh the created_at field. With just a few Mh/s of power I was potentially looking at weeks of computation, by then the note would be quite stale. So I created systemd service leveraging the RuntimeMaxSec option to periodically restart every 3600 seconds assuring that the Note would be max 1 hour old at the time of publishing.

Luckily PoW is that kind of problem where every hash attempt is an independent event, so the chance of success is the same whether you do it in small increments or one uninterrupted stretch. So by restarting the mining process I was only losing a few mere seconds every hour due to the overhead.

Once the note staleness issue was resolved, I looked at the 40 workers on Workhorse vs. 7 workers on the laptop and start messing around with running one instance with 40 workers and running 40 instances with 1 worker and found out, that the workers are not bound to a CPU thread and are jumping between the CPUs like rabbits high on Colombian carrots.

The solution? Running multiple instances with one worker each as a service locked to its own CPU core using systemd's CPUAffinity option. ``` $aida@workhorse:systemd/system $ sudo cat notemine@.service [Unit] Description=Notemine HW Publish (restarts hourly)

[Service] Type=simple CPUAffinity=%i

The command to run:

ExecStart=/home/aida/.cargo/bin/notemine_hw publish --n-workers 1 --difficulty 45 --event-json /home/aida/note.json --relay-url 'wss://wot.shaving.kiwi' --nsec nsec0123456789abcdef

Let the process run for 1 hour (3600 seconds), then systemd will stop it:

RuntimeMaxSec=3600 TimeoutStopSec=1

Tells systemd to restart the service automatically after it stops:

Restart=always RestartSec=1

run as a non-root user:

User=aida Group=aida

[Install] WantedBy=multi-user.target ``` Then I added a starting service to spawn an instance for each CPU thread.

``` $aida@workhorse:systemd/system $ sudo cat notemine_start.service [Unit] Description=Start all services in sequence with 3-second intervals

[Service] Type=oneshot ExecStart=/usr/bin/zsh /home/aida/notemine_start.sh

RemainAfterExit=yes

[Install] WantedBy=multi-user.target Here is the startup script (I know, loops exist—but Ctrl+C/Ctrl+V is so old-school): aida@workhorse:~ $ cat notemine_start.sh /usr/bin/systemctl start notemine@0.service /usr/bin/sleep 3 /usr/bin/systemctl start notemine@1.service /usr/bin/sleep 3 /usr/bin/systemctl start notemine@2.service /usr/bin/sleep 3 /usr/bin/systemctl start notemine@3.service /usr/bin/sleep 3 ... ... ... /usr/bin/systemctl start notemine@38.service `` The sleep there is critical to make sure that thecreated_at`timestamps are different, preventing redundant hashing.

This adjustment made Workhorse the strongest machine in my fleet with 10+Mh/s.

The Luck Aspect

From Monday evening, I started adding all machines at my disposal into the fleet and by Wednesday evening I was crunching hashes on about 130 CPU threads (a lot of them were quite antique) and at the peak was just little shy of 40Mh/s. To compensate for the slow start with the few above-mentioned hiccups and the fact that I had to use my desktop to do other things from time to time, I counted with the conservative estimate of 30Mh/s when I was doing all the probability calculations.

Based on the type of task that PoW mining is, the outcome is not predictible. You are only looking at what is the chance that the outcome of every single independent event will be consecutively non-favourable and then subtracting it from 1 to get the chance of that single favourable event you want. I really had to brush up on my combinatorics and discrete mathematics to make sure I have at least an elementary understanding of what is going on. Also, because we are not just throwing a dice 5 times, but are operating with big numbers, approximation was necessary. Luckily, the formula is available and quite simple in the end.

Two weeks to exhauste all the possible tries still doesn't guarantee anything, actually there is a slighlty less than 2 in 3 chance that you will have a result after all that time. So the fact that I was able to hit the right hash in less than 3 days was good luck. Not insane lottery winning luck, but good luck; slighlty lower than 1 in 5.

Do you want to beat me?

Go ahead! All the pitfalls are described above and until there is a GPU-based PoW Mining available, we are all on pretty even ground.

Do you hate the note?

In that case, feel free to enjoy this accompanying image:

@ 04c915da:3dfbecc9

There is something quietly rebellious about stacking sats. In a world obsessed with instant gratification, choosing to patiently accumulate Bitcoin, one sat at a time, feels like a middle finger to the hype machine. But to do it right, you have got to stay humble. Stack too hard with your head in the clouds, and you will trip over your own ego before the next halving even hits.

Small Wins

Stacking sats is not glamorous. Discipline. Stacking every day, week, or month, no matter the price, and letting time do the heavy lifting. Humility lives in that consistency. You are not trying to outsmart the market or prove you are the next "crypto" prophet. Just a regular person, betting on a system you believe in, one humble stack at a time. Folks get rekt chasing the highs. They ape into some shitcoin pump, shout about it online, then go silent when they inevitably get rekt. The ones who last? They stack. Just keep showing up. Consistency. Humility in action. Know the game is long, and you are not bigger than it.

Ego is Volatile

Bitcoin’s swings can mess with your head. One day you are up 20%, feeling like a genius and the next down 30%, questioning everything. Ego will have you panic selling at the bottom or over leveraging the top. Staying humble means patience, a true bitcoin zen. Do not try to "beat” Bitcoin. Ride it. Stack what you can afford, live your life, and let compounding work its magic.

Simplicity

There is a beauty in how stacking sats forces you to rethink value. A sat is worth less than a penny today, but every time you grab a few thousand, you plant a seed. It is not about flaunting wealth but rather building it, quietly, without fanfare. That mindset spills over. Cut out the noise: the overpriced coffee, fancy watches, the status games that drain your wallet. Humility is good for your soul and your stack. I have a buddy who has been stacking since 2015. Never talks about it unless you ask. Lives in a decent place, drives an old truck, and just keeps stacking. He is not chasing clout, he is chasing freedom. That is the vibe: less ego, more sats, all grounded in life.

The Big Picture

Stack those sats. Do it quietly, do it consistently, and do not let the green days puff you up or the red days break you down. Humility is the secret sauce, it keeps you grounded while the world spins wild. In a decade, when you look back and smile, it will not be because you shouted the loudest. It will be because you stayed the course, one sat at a time. \ \ Stay Humble and Stack Sats. 🫡

@ a58a2663:87bb2918

After two years of using Standard Notes as my main note-taking app, I’m switching to Obsidian.

The $100 that Standard Notes charges for basic editing capabilities is difficult to justify, especially for someone paying in Brazilian Real and striving to make a living from writing. However, I will certainly miss its simplicity and cleaner interface.

It’s my impression that the developers are missing an opportunity to create a privacy-focused note-taking app tailored to the specific needs of writers, rather than general users.

Substack, for example, achieved such success because it targeted the distribution and monetization of writers’ work. But we need more tools focused not on distribution or monetization, but on the actual process—indeed, the various phases of the process—of creating texts. This is especially true for complex, long-form texts with different levels of argumentation, numerous written and multimedia sources, and cross-references to other works by the author.

It’s crucial that an app like this doesn’t feel overly complex, like Notion or Evernote, or so all-purpose, like Obsidian. And, of course, I’m not talking about a new full-fledged text editor like Scrivener.

Just a thought. Take note.

@ 04c915da:3dfbecc9

This piece is the first in a series that will focus on things I think are a priority if your focus is similar to mine: building a strong family and safeguarding their future.

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Choosing the ideal place to raise a family is one of the most significant decisions you will ever make. For simplicity sake I will break down my thought process into key factors: strong property rights, the ability to grow your own food, access to fresh water, the freedom to own and train with guns, and a dependable community.

A Jurisdiction with Strong Property Rights

Strong property rights are essential and allow you to build on a solid foundation that is less likely to break underneath you. Regions with a history of limited government and clear legal protections for landowners are ideal. Personally I think the US is the single best option globally, but within the US there is a wide difference between which state you choose. Choose carefully and thoughtfully, think long term. Obviously if you are not American this is not a realistic option for you, there are other solid options available especially if your family has mobility. I understand many do not have this capability to easily move, consider that your first priority, making movement and jurisdiction choice possible in the first place.

Abundant Access to Fresh Water

Water is life. I cannot overstate the importance of living somewhere with reliable, clean, and abundant freshwater. Some regions face water scarcity or heavy regulations on usage, so prioritizing a place where water is plentiful and your rights to it are protected is critical. Ideally you should have well access so you are not tied to municipal water supplies. In times of crisis or chaos well water cannot be easily shutoff or disrupted. If you live in an area that is drought prone, you are one drought away from societal chaos. Not enough people appreciate this simple fact.

Grow Your Own Food

A location with fertile soil, a favorable climate, and enough space for a small homestead or at the very least a garden is key. In stable times, a small homestead provides good food and important education for your family. In times of chaos your family being able to grow and raise healthy food provides a level of self sufficiency that many others will lack. Look for areas with minimal restrictions, good weather, and a culture that supports local farming.

Guns

The ability to defend your family is fundamental. A location where you can legally and easily own guns is a must. Look for places with a strong gun culture and a political history of protecting those rights. Owning one or two guns is not enough and without proper training they will be a liability rather than a benefit. Get comfortable and proficient. Never stop improving your skills. If the time comes that you must use a gun to defend your family, the skills must be instinct. Practice. Practice. Practice.

A Strong Community You Can Depend On

No one thrives alone. A ride or die community that rallies together in tough times is invaluable. Seek out a place where people know their neighbors, share similar values, and are quick to lend a hand. Lead by example and become a good neighbor, people will naturally respond in kind. Small towns are ideal, if possible, but living outside of a major city can be a solid balance in terms of work opportunities and family security.

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Let me know if you found this helpful. My plan is to break down how I think about these five key subjects in future posts.

@ 6389be64:ef439d32

GA, plebs. The latest episode of Bitcoin And is out, and, as always, the chicanery is running rampant. Let’s break down the biggest topics I covered, and if you want the full, unfiltered rant, make sure to listen to the episode linked below.

House Democrats’ MEME Act: A Bad Joke?

House Democrats are proposing a bill to ban presidential meme coins, clearly aimed at Trump’s and Melania’s ill-advised token launches. While grifters launching meme coins is bad, this bill is just as ridiculous. If this legislation moves forward, expect a retaliatory strike exposing how politicians like Pelosi and Warren mysteriously amassed their fortunes. Will it pass? Doubtful. But it’s another sign of the government’s obsession with regulating everything except itself.

Senate Banking’s First Digital Asset Hearing: The Real Target Is You

Cynthia Lummis chaired the first digital asset hearing, and—surprise!—it was all about control. The discussion centered on stablecoins, AML, and KYC regulations, with witnesses suggesting Orwellian measures like freezing stablecoin transactions unless pre-approved by authorities. What was barely mentioned? Bitcoin. They want full oversight of stablecoins, which is really about controlling financial freedom. Expect more nonsense targeting self-custody wallets under the guise of stopping “bad actors.”

Bank of America and PayPal Want In on Stablecoins

Bank of America’s CEO openly stated they’ll launch a stablecoin as soon as regulation allows. Meanwhile, PayPal’s CEO paid for a hat using Bitcoin—not their own stablecoin, Pi USD. Why wouldn’t he use his own product? Maybe he knows stablecoins aren’t what they’re hyped up to be. Either way, the legacy financial system is gearing up to flood the market with stablecoins, not because they love crypto, but because it’s a tool to extend U.S. dollar dominance.

MetaPlanet Buys the Dip

Japan’s MetaPlanet issued $13.4M in bonds to buy more Bitcoin, proving once again that institutions see the writing on the wall. Unlike U.S. regulators who obsess over stablecoins, some companies are actually stacking sats.

UK Expands Crypto Seizure Powers

Across the pond, the UK government is pushing legislation to make it easier to seize and destroy crypto linked to criminal activity. While they frame it as going after the bad guys, it’s another move toward centralized control and financial surveillance.

Bitcoin Tools & Tech: Arc, SatoChip, and Nunchuk

Some bullish Bitcoin developments: ARC v0.5 is making Bitcoin’s second layer more efficient, SatoChip now supports Taproot and Nostr, and Nunchuk launched a group wallet with chat, making multisig collaboration easier.

The Bottom Line

The state is coming for financial privacy and control, and stablecoins are their weapon of choice. Bitcoiners need to stay focused, keep their coins in self-custody, and build out parallel systems. Expect more regulatory attacks, but don’t let them distract you—just keep stacking and transacting in ways they can’t control.

🎧 Listen to the full episode here: https://fountain.fm/episode/PYITCo18AJnsEkKLz2Ks

💰 Support the show by boosting sats on Podcasting 2.0! and I will see you on the other side.

@ c13e67ae:8ff5689b

Testing the world

@ 04c915da:3dfbecc9

Here’s a revised timeline of macro-level events from The Mandibles: A Family, 2029–2047 by Lionel Shriver, reimagined in a world where Bitcoin is adopted as a widely accepted form of money, altering the original narrative’s assumptions about currency collapse and economic control. In Shriver’s original story, the failure of Bitcoin is assumed amid the dominance of the bancor and the dollar’s collapse. Here, Bitcoin’s success reshapes the economic and societal trajectory, decentralizing power and challenging state-driven outcomes.

Part One: 2029–2032

• 2029 (Early Year)\ The United States faces economic strain as the dollar weakens against global shifts. However, Bitcoin, having gained traction emerges as a viable alternative. Unlike the original timeline, the bancor—a supranational currency backed by a coalition of nations—struggles to gain footing as Bitcoin’s decentralized adoption grows among individuals and businesses worldwide, undermining both the dollar and the bancor.

• 2029 (Mid-Year: The Great Renunciation)\ Treasury bonds lose value, and the government bans Bitcoin, labeling it a threat to sovereignty (mirroring the original bancor ban). However, a Bitcoin ban proves unenforceable—its decentralized nature thwarts confiscation efforts, unlike gold in the original story. Hyperinflation hits the dollar as the U.S. prints money, but Bitcoin’s fixed supply shields adopters from currency devaluation, creating a dual-economy split: dollar users suffer, while Bitcoin users thrive.

• 2029 (Late Year)\ Dollar-based inflation soars, emptying stores of goods priced in fiat currency. Meanwhile, Bitcoin transactions flourish in underground and online markets, stabilizing trade for those plugged into the bitcoin ecosystem. Traditional supply chains falter, but peer-to-peer Bitcoin networks enable local and international exchange, reducing scarcity for early adopters. The government’s gold confiscation fails to bolster the dollar, as Bitcoin’s rise renders gold less relevant.

• 2030–2031\ Crime spikes in dollar-dependent urban areas, but Bitcoin-friendly regions see less chaos, as digital wallets and smart contracts facilitate secure trade. The U.S. government doubles down on surveillance to crack down on bitcoin use. A cultural divide deepens: centralized authority weakens in Bitcoin-adopting communities, while dollar zones descend into lawlessness.

• 2032\ By this point, Bitcoin is de facto legal tender in parts of the U.S. and globally, especially in tech-savvy or libertarian-leaning regions. The federal government’s grip slips as tax collection in dollars plummets—Bitcoin’s traceability is low, and citizens evade fiat-based levies. Rural and urban Bitcoin hubs emerge, while the dollar economy remains fractured.

Time Jump: 2032–2047

• Over 15 years, Bitcoin solidifies as a global reserve currency, eroding centralized control. The U.S. government adapts, grudgingly integrating bitcoin into policy, though regional autonomy grows as Bitcoin empowers local economies.

Part Two: 2047

• 2047 (Early Year)\ The U.S. is a hybrid state: Bitcoin is legal tender alongside a diminished dollar. Taxes are lower, collected in BTC, reducing federal overreach. Bitcoin’s adoption has decentralized power nationwide. The bancor has faded, unable to compete with Bitcoin’s grassroots momentum.

• 2047 (Mid-Year)\ Travel and trade flow freely in Bitcoin zones, with no restrictive checkpoints. The dollar economy lingers in poorer areas, marked by decay, but Bitcoin’s dominance lifts overall prosperity, as its deflationary nature incentivizes saving and investment over consumption. Global supply chains rebound, powered by bitcoin enabled efficiency.

• 2047 (Late Year)\ The U.S. is a patchwork of semi-autonomous zones, united by Bitcoin’s universal acceptance rather than federal control. Resource scarcity persists due to past disruptions, but economic stability is higher than in Shriver’s original dystopia—Bitcoin’s success prevents the authoritarian slide, fostering a freer, if imperfect, society.

Key Differences

• Currency Dynamics: Bitcoin’s triumph prevents the bancor’s dominance and mitigates hyperinflation’s worst effects, offering a lifeline outside state control.
• Government Power: Centralized authority weakens as Bitcoin evades bans and taxation, shifting power to individuals and communities.
• Societal Outcome: Instead of a surveillance state, 2047 sees a decentralized, bitcoin driven world—less oppressive, though still stratified between Bitcoin haves and have-nots.

This reimagining assumes Bitcoin overcomes Shriver’s implied skepticism to become a robust, adopted currency by 2029, fundamentally altering the novel’s bleak trajectory.

@ 58537364:705b4b85

วันนี้เป็นวันสำคัญทางศาสนา มีการจัดงานบุญพร้อมกับฟังเทศน์อย่างยิ่งใหญ่ "ชายคนหนึ่ง" ได้มานั่งฟังธรรมอยู่บนศาลาวัด ในขณะที่นั่งฟังอยู่นั้นสายตาก็เหลือบไปเห็นคนกำลังตกปลาอยู่ในบ่อน้ำที่วัด แล้วก็นั่งคิดบ่นด่าคนตกปลาอยู่ในใจว่าทำไมถึงทำเช่นนั้น ในวัดแท้ๆ ยังกล้ามาจับปลา ไม่กลัวบาปกรรมบ้างเลยหรืออย่างไร แต่แทนที่ชายคนนี้มานั่งฟังธรรมจะได้บุญ กลับเอาจิตไปด่าทอผู้อื่นอยู่ตลอดเวลา

ในขณะเดียวกัน “คนตกปลา” ก็มองเห็นคนที่มานั่งฟังธรรมบนศาลาวัด ใจก็ตั้งจิตขออนุโมทนาบุญ เพราะผมมันเป็นคนบาป ไม่มีโอกาสได้ไปนั่งฟังธรรมกับคนอื่นเขา ต้องเอาเวลามาตกปลาเลี้ยงชีพ เลี้ยงดูพ่อแม่ที่ป่วยหนัก เพราะเกิดมาจนจึงไม่มีวาสนาสร้างบุญแบบคนอื่น หากเกิดชาติหน้า ก็ขอให้มีโอกาสได้สร้างบุญเหมือนแบบท่านๆที่ได้นั่งฟังธรรมอยู่ด้วยเถิด เกิดมาชาตินี้มีกรรมหนัก ต้องชดใช้กรรมที่ก่อไว้ ปลาที่มาติดเบ็ดก็ขออย่าได้จองเวรกันเลย

ถึงแม้คนตกปลาจะกำลังตกปลาอยู่ แต่จิตก็เอาแต่ภาวนาสาธุไปกับคนที่ฟังธรรม และขออโหสิกรรมปลาตลอด ที่นี้ทุกคนเข้าใจหรือยังว่า ทำไมคนฟังธรรมถึงตกนรก คนตกปลาได้ขึ้นสวรรค์

ความหมายของ “กรรมดี” และ “กรรมชั่ว” มาจากเจตนา การมีเจตนาที่ประกอบด้วยกุศล คือ กรรมดี แต่การมีเจตนาที่ประกอบด้วยอกุศล คือ กรรมชั่ว อย่างชายที่ไปนั่งฟังธรรม ก็หลงคิดว่าตัวเองกำลังทำดีอยู่ แล้วก็เอาแต่มองคนอื่นที่ไม่ทำแบบตัวเองว่าเป็นคนไม่ดี ในใจก็เอาแต่ ด่าทอ คิดร้าย ต่างๆนาๆ ในขณะที่คนตกปลา มีแต่เจตนาที่ดีต่อผู้อื่น เห็นผู้อื่นทำความดี ก็ยินดีด้วยเสมอ

การปฏิบัติธรรม เป็นการฝึกจิตให้สงบ เพื่อพัฒนาจิตของตนเองให้สูงขึ้น ไม่ใช่เอาไว้ไปข่มคนอื่นให้ดูต่ำลง เพราะสุดท้ายแล้วคนที่ทำแบบนี้ ย่อมต่ำกว่า เจ้าสวดมนต์แต่ยัง “นินทา“ เจ้าทำทานแต่ยัง ”เอาเปรียบ“ เจ้ามีความรู้แต่ชอบ ”ดูถูกคน“ เจ้าตัวสะอาดแต่ ”ใจสกปรก“ เจ้าอยากได้มิตรแท้ แต่… ”เจ้ากลับเป็นมิตรเทียม“ เจ้าบอกทำกุศล แต่… ”หมายเอาชื่อเสียง“ เจ้ามีทุกสิ่ง แต่… ”ไม่คิดแบ่งปัน “ เจ้าดูแลคนอื่น แต่… ”ละเลยพ่อแม่ “ เจ้างดเนื้อสัตว์ แต่… ”ข่มเหง ” เพื่อนมนุษย์ เจ้าหาตัวเองไม่เจอ แต่… “กรรม ” หาเจ้าเจอ

พระไพศาล วิสาโล ได้บอกถึงพฤติกรรมที่คนเหล่านี้เป็น นั่นเพราะว่า “เหมือนในสังคมทุกวันนี้ ที่ชอบทำบุญ แต่กลับไร้น้ำใจ ทั้งๆที่การมีน้ำใจต่อเพื่อนมนุษย์ เป็นสิ่งที่ทำได้ง่ายในชีวิตประจำวัน แต่บางคนกลับดั้นด้นเดินทางไปไกลๆ เพื่อที่จะไปทำบุญที่วัดอย่างเดียว แต่กับคนทุกข์ยากใกล้ตัว ไม่เคยแม้แต่จะเหลียวแลยื่นมือช่วย นั่นเป็นเพราะว่าคนเรา มักจะชอบกระทำต่อสิ่งที่อยู่สูงกว่าตน เช่น พระสงฆ์ วัดวาอาราม แต่กลับละเลยสิ่งที่คิดว่าอยู่ต่ำกว่าตนเอง เช่น คน ยากจน หรือ สัตว์น้อยใหญ่”

เมตตาค้ำจุนโลก

Cr: คู่มือมนุษย์

@ 6e0ea5d6:0327f353

"Malcolm Forbes recounts that a lady, wearing a faded cotton dress, and her husband, dressed in an old handmade suit, stepped off a train in Boston, USA, and timidly made their way to the office of the president of Harvard University. They had come from Palo Alto, California, and had not scheduled an appointment. The secretary, at a glance, thought that those two, looking like country bumpkins, had no business at Harvard.
— We want to speak with the president — the man said in a low voice.
— He will be busy all day — the secretary replied curtly.
— We will wait.
The secretary ignored them for hours, hoping the couple would finally give up and leave. But they stayed there, and the secretary, somewhat frustrated, decided to bother the president, although she hated doing that.
— If you speak with them for just a few minutes, maybe they will decide to go away — she said.
The president sighed in irritation but agreed. Someone of his importance did not have time to meet people like that, but he hated faded dresses and tattered suits in his office. With a stern face, he went to the couple.
— We had a son who studied at Harvard for a year — the woman said. — He loved Harvard and was very happy here, but a year ago he died in an accident, and we would like to erect a monument in his honor somewhere on campus.

— My lady — said the president rudely —, we cannot erect a statue for every person who studied at Harvard and died; if we did, this place would look like a cemetery.

— Oh, no — the lady quickly replied. — We do not want to erect a statue. We would like to donate a building to Harvard.

The president looked at the woman's faded dress and her husband's old suit and exclaimed:

— A building! Do you have even the faintest idea of how much a building costs? We have more than seven and a half million dollars' worth of buildings here at Harvard.

The lady was silent for a moment, then said to her husband:

— If that’s all it costs to found a university, why don’t we have our own?

The husband agreed.

The couple, Leland Stanford, stood up and left, leaving the president confused. Traveling back to Palo Alto, California, they established there Stanford University, the second-largest in the world, in honor of their son, a former Harvard student."

Text extracted from: "Mileumlivros - Stories that Teach Values."

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@ 58537364:705b4b85

ความสุขแท้ไม่มีในโลก มีแต่เมื่อความทุกข์ได้ถูกบำบัดลงครั้งหนึ่ง ก็เรียกว่าความสุขครั้งหนึ่ง คุณอยากได้ของสักชิ้นอย่างมาก เมื่อได้มาแล้วก็มีความสุข เพราะความอยากได้ถูกบำบัดไปแล้ว เมื่อคุณอยากได้ของหรืออยากได้อะไรอีก ความทุกข์ก็เกิดขึ้นอีก เมื่ออยากมาก ก็ทุกข์มาก เมื่อไม่อยากให้ของสิ่งนั้นหายหรือแตกดับไป ก็ทุกข์อีก

เมื่อได้รับของที่ต้องการแล้ว ก็ต้องดูแลเอาใจใส่ของนั้น เมื่อไม่เป็นไปตามความอยากหรือไม่อยากของตน ก็ทุกข์ ซึ่งทุกสรรพสิ่ง เมื่อเกิดขึ้น ย่อมตั้งอยู่แล้วดับไป คนที่เรารักย่อมเจ็บป่วยและดับไป เป็นธรรมดาของชีวิต แต่เราไม่ยอมรับ บางคนเมื่อพูดถึงความตาย ก็บอกว่า พูดทำไม เป็นคำอัปมงคล แต่โดยแท้แล้ว ความตายอยู่กับเราทุกลมหายใจ

เราต้องการให้คนรอบๆ ทำแต่สิ่งที่ถูกใจเรา ทำสิ่งที่ดีต่อเรา แต่มันจะเป็นไปได้หรือ ความสุขจึงอยู่ที่การยอมรับในสิ่งที่เป็น ที่มีอยู่ เพราะธรรมชาติของสิ่งที่เราต้องพบ ต้องประสบ มันเป็นเช่นนั้นของมันเอง การพยายามไปเปลี่ยนแปลงสิ่งต่างๆรอบๆตัว จึง เหมือนการพยายามห้ามแม่น้ำไม่ให้ไหลไป

ความสุขในฐานะปุถุชนมีได้ ด้วยการยอมรับสิ่งที่เกิดขึ้น การยอมรับไม่ใช่การยอมแพ้แก่มัน แต่เมื่อเราพยายามทำดีอย่างที่สุดแล้ว ผลสุดท้ายจะเป้นอย่างไร ก็ต้องวาง

ขอยกคำหลวงพ่อไพศาลที่ว่า ชีวิตเราเลือกได้ ว่าจะเป็นอย่างไร เด็กผู้หญิง 10 ขวบ ขนของ แต่เด็กผู้ชายสองคน ไม่ช่วยขนของ ไปดูทีวีเสีย แทนที่เด็กผู้หญิงคนนั้นจะโกรธ กลับบอกว่า ขนของเหนื่อยอย่างเดียว แต่ถ้าไปโกรธเขา เราก็เหนื่อยสองอย่าง

การอยู่โดยมองโลกในแง่บวก เป็นสิ่งที่สำคัญมาก ขอยกตัวอย่างจากหลวงพ่อไพศาลอีกครั้ง เด็กชายคนหนึ่งเป็นโรคมะเร็งที่ กระดูกที่ขา เขาถูกตัดขาไปข้างหนึ่ง เขาบอกว่า เขาดีใจที่ยังมีขาอีกข้างหนึ่ง ไม่ใช่เสียใจที่เสียขาไป

เป็นสุขในทุกความเปลี่ยนแปลง หลวงพ่อไพศาล วิสาโล

คนเราย่อมปรารถนาความเปลี่ยนแปลง หากว่าความเปลี่ยนแปลงนั้นอยู่ในอำนาจของเรา หรือสอดคล้องกับความต้องการของเรา ไม่มีใครอยากขับรถคันเดิม ใช้โทรศัพท์เครื่องเดิม หรืออยู่กับที่ไปตลอด มิจำต้องพูดถึงการอยู่ในอิริยาบถเดิม ๆ เราต้องการสิ่งใหม่ ๆ อยู่เสมอ แต่ความจริงอย่างหนึ่งที่เราปฏิเสธไม่ได้ก็คือ มีความเปลี่ยนแปลงหลายอย่างที่เราไม่ต้องการแต่หนีไม่พ้น ความเปลี่ยนแปลงอย่างนี้แหละที่ผู้คนประหวั่นพรั่นพรึง วิตกกังวลเมื่อนึกถึงมัน และเป็นทุกข์เมื่อมันมาถึง

แต่ยังมีความจริงอีกอย่างหนึ่งที่เราพึงตระหนักก็คือ สุขหรือทุกข์นั้น มิได้ขึ้นอยู่กับว่า มีอะไรเกิดขึ้นกับเรา แต่อยู่ที่ว่า เรารู้สึกอย่างไรกับสิ่งนั้นต่างหาก แม้มีสิ่งไม่ดีเกิดขึ้นกับเรา แต่ถ้าเราไม่รู้สึกย่ำแย่ไปกับมัน หรือวางใจให้เป็น มันก็ทำให้เราเป็นทุกข์ไม่ได้

กนกวรรณ ศิลป์สุข เป็นโรคธาลัสซีเมียตั้งแต่เกิด ทำให้เธอมีร่างกายแคระแกร็น กระดูกเปราะและเจ็บป่วยด้วยโรคแทรกซ้อนนานาชนิด ซึ่งมักทำให้อายุสั้น แต่เธอกับน้องสาวไม่มีสีหน้าอมทุกข์แต่อย่างใด กลับใช้ชีวิตอย่างมีความสุข เธอพูดจากประสบการณ์ของตัวเองว่า “มันไม่สำคัญหรอกว่าเราจะเป็นอย่างไรหรือมีอะไรเกิดขึ้นกับชีวิต แต่สำคัญที่ว่าเมื่อเกิดขึ้นมาแล้ว เราคิดกับมันยังไงต่างหาก สำหรับเราสองคน ความสุขเป็นเรื่องที่หาง่ายมาก ถ้าใจของเราคิดว่ามันเป็นความสุข”

โอโตทาเกะ ฮิโรทาดะ เกิดมาพิการ ไร้แขนไร้ขา แต่เขาสามารถช่วยตัวเองได้แทบทุกอย่าง ในหนังสือเรื่อง ไม่ครบห้า เขาพูดไว้ตอนหนึ่งว่า “ผมเกิดมาพิการแต่ผมมีความสุขและสนุกทุกวัน” ใครที่ได้รู้จักเขาคงยอมรับเต็มปากว่าเขาเป็นคนที่มีความสุขคนหนึ่ง อาจจะสุขมากกว่าคนที่มีอวัยวะครบ (แต่กลับเป็นทุกข์เพราะหน้ามีสิว ผิวตกกระ หุ่นไม่กระชับ)

ในโลกที่ซับซ้อนและผันผวนปรวนแปรอยู่เสมอ เราไม่สามารถเลือกได้ว่าจะต้องมีสิ่งดี ๆ เกิดขึ้นกับเราตลอดเวลา แต่เราเลือกได้ว่าจะมีปฏิกิริยากับสิ่งนั้นอย่างไร รวมทั้งเลือกได้ว่าจะยอมให้มันมีอิทธิพลต่อเราอย่างไรและแค่ไหน..ในวันที่แดดจ้าอากาศร้อนอ้าว บุรุษไปรษณีย์คนหนึ่งยืนรอส่งเอกสารหน้าบ้านหลังใหญ่ หลังจากเรียกหาเจ้าของบ้านแต่ไม่มีวี่แววว่าจะมีคนมารับ เขาก็ร้องเพลงไปพลาง ๆ เสียงดังชัดเจนไปทั้งซอย ในที่สุดเจ้าของบ้านก็ออกจากห้องแอร์มารับเอกสาร เธอมีสีหน้าหงุดหงิด เมื่อรับเอกสารเสร็จเธอก็ถามบุรุษไปรษณีย์ว่า “ร้อนแบบนี้ยังมีอารมณ์ร้องเพลงอีกเหรอ” เขายิ้มแล้วตอบว่า “ถ้าโลกร้อนแต่ใจเราเย็น มันก็เย็นครับ ร้องเพลงเป็นความสุขของผมอย่างหนึ่ง ส่งไปร้องไป” ว่าแล้วเขาก็ขับรถจากไป

เราสั่งให้อากาศเย็นตลอดเวลาไม่ได้ แต่เราเลือกได้ว่าจะยอมให้อากาศร้อนมีอิทธิพลต่อจิตใจของเราได้แค่ไหน นี้คือเสรีภาพอย่างหนึ่งที่เรามีกันทุกคน อยู่ที่ว่าเราจะใช้เสรีภาพชนิดนี้หรือไม่ พูดอีกอย่างก็คือ ถ้าเราหงุดหงิดเพราะอากาศร้อน นั่นแสดงว่าเราเลือกแล้วที่จะยอมให้มันยัดเยียดความทุกข์แก่ใจเรา

ถึงที่สุดแล้ว สุขหรือทุกข์อยู่ที่เราเลือก มิใช่มีใครมาทำให้ ถึงแม้จะป่วยด้วยโรคร้าย เราก็ยังสามารถมีความสุขได้ โจว ต้า กวน เด็กชายวัย ๑๐ ขวบ เป็นโรคมะเร็งที่ขา จนต้องผ่าตัดถึง ๓ ครั้ง เขาได้เขียนบทกวีเล่าถึงประสบการณ์ในครั้งนั้นว่า เมื่อพ่อแม่จูงมือเขาเข้าห้องผ่าตัด เขาเลือก “น้องสงบ” เป็นเพื่อน (แทนที่จะเป็น “น้องกังวล”) เมื่อเขาห้องผ่าตัดครั้งที่สอง เขาเลือก “ลุงมั่นคง”เป็นเพื่อน (แทนที่จะเป็น “ป้ากลัว”) เมื่อพ่ออุ้มเขาเข้าห้องผ่าตัดครั้งที่สาม เขาเลือก “ชีวิต” (แทนที่จะเป็น “ความตาย”) ด้วยการเลือกเช่นนี้มะเร็งจึงบั่นทอนได้แต่ร่างกายของเขา แต่ทำอะไรจิตใจเขาไม่ได้

เมื่อใดก็ตามที่ความเปลี่ยนแปลงอันไม่พึงประสงค์เกิดขึ้น หากเราไม่สามารถสกัดกั้นหรือบรรเทาลงได้ ในยามนั้นไม่มีอะไรดีกว่าการหันมาจัดการกับใจของเราเอง เพื่อให้เกิดความทุกข์น้อยที่สุด หรือใช้มันให้เกิดประโยชน์มากที่สุด ด้วยวิธีการต่อไปนี้

๑. ยอมรับความจริงที่เกิดขึ้นแล้ว การยอมรับความจริงที่ไม่พึงประสงค์ ทำให้เราเลิกบ่น ตีโพยตีพาย หรือมัวแต่ตีอกชกหัว ซึ่งมีแต่จะเพิ่มความทุกข์ให้แก่ตนเอง คนเรามักซ้ำเติมตัวเองด้วยการบ่นโวยวายในสิ่งที่ไม่อาจแก้ไขอะไรได้

เรามักทำใจยอมรับความจริงที่เกิดขึ้นแล้วไม่ได้ เพราะเห็นว่ามันไม่ถูกต้อง ไม่น่าเกิด ไม่ยุติธรรม (“ทำไมต้องเป็นฉัน ?”) แต่ยิ่งไปยึดติดหรือหมกมุ่นกับเหตุผลเหล่านั้น เราก็ยิ่งเป็นทุกข์ แทนที่จะเสียเวลาและพลังงานไปกับการบ่นโวยวาย ไม่ดีกว่าหรือหากเราจะเอาเวลาและพลังงานเหล่านั้นไปใช้ในการรับมือกับสิ่ง ที่เกิดขึ้นแล้ว

เด็ก ๓ คนได้รับมอบหมายให้ขนของขึ้นรถไฟ แต่ระหว่างที่กำลังขนของ เด็กชาย ๒ คนก็ผละไปดูโทรทัศน์ซึ่งกำลังถ่ายทอดสดการชกมวยของสมจิตร จงจอหอ นักชกเหรียญทองโอลิมปิค เมื่อมีคนถามเด็กหญิงซึ่งกำลังขนของอยู่คนเดียวว่า เธอไม่โกรธหรือคิดจะด่าว่าเพื่อน ๒ คนนั้นหรือ เธอตอบว่า “หนูขนของขึ้นรถไฟ หนูเหนื่อยอย่างเดียว แต่ถ้าหนูโกรธหรือไปด่าว่าเขา หนูก็ต้องเหนื่อยสองอย่าง”

ทุกครั้งที่ทำงาน เราสามารถเลือกได้ว่าจะเหนื่อยอย่างเดียว หรือเหนื่อยสองอย่าง คำถามคือทุกวันนี้เราเลือกเหนื่อยกี่อย่าง นอกจากเหนื่อยกายแล้ว เรายังเหนื่อยใจด้วยหรือไม่

การยอมรับความจริง ไม่ได้แปลว่ายอมจำนนต่อสิ่งที่เกิดขึ้น แต่เป็นจุดเริ่มต้นของการเลือกที่จะไม่ยอมทุกข์เพราะความเปลี่ยนแปลง อีกทั้งยังทำให้สามารถตั้งหลักหรือปรับตัวปรับใจพร้อมรับความเปลี่ยนแปลง นั้นอย่างดีที่สุด

๒. ทำปัจจุบันให้ดีที่สุด นอกจากบ่นโวยวายกับสิ่งที่เกิดขึ้นแล้ว เรามักทุกข์เพราะอาลัยอดีตอันงดงาม หรือกังวลกับสิ่งเลวร้ายที่คาดว่าจะเกิดขึ้นในอนาคต สุดท้ายก็เลยไม่เป็นอันทำอะไร

ไม่ว่าจะอาลัยอดีตหรือกังวลกับอนาคตเพียงใด ก็ไม่ช่วยให้อะไรดีขึ้น กลับทำให้เราย่ำแย่กว่าเดิม สิ่งเดียวที่จะทำให้อะไรดีขึ้นก็คือการทำปัจจุบันให้ดีที่สุด ทางข้างหน้าแม้จะยาวไกลและลำบากเพียงใด แต่เราไม่มีวันถึงจุดหมายเลยหากไม่ลงมือก้าวเสียแต่เดี๋ยวนี้ รวมทั้งใส่ใจกับแต่ละก้าวให้ดี ถ้าก้าวไม่หยุดในที่สุดก็ต้องถึงที่หมายเอง

บรู๊ซ เคอร์บี นักไต่เขา พูดไว้อย่างน่าสนใจว่า “ทุกอย่างมักจะดูเลวร้ายกว่าความจริงเสมอเมื่อเรามองจากที่ไกล ๆ เช่น หนทางขึ้นเขาดูน่ากลัว....บางเส้นทางอาจดูเลวร้ายจนคุณระย่อและอยากหันหลัง กลับ นานมาแล้วผมได้บทเรียนสำคัญคือ แทนที่จะมองขึ้นไปข้างบนและสูญเสียกำลังใจกับการจินตนาการถึงอันตรายข้าง หน้า ผมจับจ้องอยู่ที่พื้นใต้ฝ่าเท้าแล้วก้าวไปข้างหน้าทีละก้าว”

๓. มองแง่บวก มองแง่บวกไม่ได้หมายถึงการฝันหวานว่าอนาคตจะต้องดีแน่ แต่หมายถึงการมองเห็นสิ่งดี ๆ ที่มีอยู่ในปัจจุบัน ไม่ว่าเจ็บป่วย ตกงาน หรืออกหัก ก็ยังมีสิ่งดี ๆ อยู่รอบตัวและในตัวเรา รวมทั้งมองเห็นสิ่งดี ๆ ที่ซุกซ่อนอยู่ในความเปลี่ยนแปลงเหล่านั้นด้วย

แม้กนกวรรณ ศิลป์สุข จะป่วยด้วยโรคร้าย แต่เธอก็มีความสุขทุกวัน เพราะ “เราก็ยังมีตาเอาไว้มองสิ่งที่สวย ๆ มีจมูกไว้ดมกลิ่นหอม ๆ มีปากไว้กินอาหารอร่อย ๆ แล้วก็มีร่างกายที่ยังพอทำอะไรได้อีกหลายอย่าง แค่นี้ก็เพียงพอแล้วที่เราจะมีความสุข” ส่วนจารุวรรณ ศิลป์สุข น้องสาวของเธอ ซึ่งขาหักถึง ๑๔ ครั้งด้วยโรคเดียวกัน ก็พูดว่า “ขาหักก็ดีเหมือนกัน ไม่ต้องไปโรงเรียน ได้อยู่กับบ้าน ฟังยายเล่านิทาน หรือไม่ก็อ่านหนังสือ อยู่กับดอกไม้ กับธรรมชาติ กับสิ่งที่เราชอบ ก็ถือว่ามีความสุขไปอีกแบบ”

โจว ต้า กวน แม้จะถูกตัดขา แต่แทนที่จะเศร้าเสียใจกับขาที่ถูกตัด เขากลับรู้สึกดีที่ยังมีขาอีกข้างหนึ่ง ดังตั้งชื่อหนังสือรวมบทกวีของเขาว่า “ฉันยังมีขาอีกข้างหนึ่ง”

หลายคนพบว่าการที่เป็นมะเร็งทำให้ตนเองได้มาพบธรรมะและความสุขที่ลึกซึ้ง จึงอดไม่ได้ที่จะอุทานว่า “โชคดีที่เป็นมะเร็ง” ขณะที่บางคนบอกว่า “โชคดีที่เป็นแค่มะเร็งสมอง” เพราะหากเป็นมะเร็งปากมดลูกเธอจะต้องเจ็บปวดยิ่งกว่านี้

ถึงที่สุด ไม่ว่าอะไรเกิดขึ้นกับเรา ก็ล้วนดีเสมอ อย่างน้อยก็ดีที่ไม่แย่ไปกว่านี้

๔. มีสติ รู้เท่าทันตนเอง เมื่อความเปลี่ยนแปลงที่ไม่พึงประสงค์เกิดขึ้น เรามักมองออกนอกตัว และอดไม่ได้ที่จะโทษคนโน้น ต่อว่าคนนี้ และเรียกหาใครต่อใครมาช่วย แต่เรามักลืมดูใจตนเอง ว่ากำลังปล่อยให้ความโกรธแค้น ความกังวล และความท้อแท้ครอบงำใจไปแล้วมากน้อยเพียงใด เราลืมไปว่าเป็นตัวเราเองต่างหากที่ยอมให้เหตุการณ์ต่าง ๆ รอบตัวยัดเยียดความทุกข์ให้แก่ใจเรา ไม่ใช่เราดอกหรือที่เลือกทุกข์มากกว่าสุข การมีสติ ระลึกรู้ใจที่กำลังจมอยู่กับความทุกข์ จะช่วยพาใจกลับสู่ความปกติ เห็นอารมณ์ต่าง ๆ เกิดขึ้นโดยไม่ไปข้องเกี่ยว จ่อมจม หรือยึดติดถือมั่นมัน อีกทั้งยังเปิดช่องและบ่มเพาะปัญญาให้ทำงานได้เต็มที่ สามารถเปลี่ยนร้ายให้กลายเป็นดี หรือมองเห็นด้านดีของมันได้

สติและปัญญาทำให้เรามีเสรีภาพที่จะเลือกสุข และหันหลังให้กับความทุกข์ ใช่หรือไม่ว่าอิสรภาพที่แท้ คือ ความสามารถในการอนุญาตให้สิ่งต่าง ๆ มีอิทธิพลต่อชีวิตของเราได้เพียงใด ความเปลี่ยนแปลงของร่างกาย ของทรัพย์สิน ของผู้คนรอบตัว รวมทั้งความเปลี่ยนแปลงในบ้านเมือง ไม่สามารถทำให้เราทุกข์ได้ หากเราเข้าถึงอิสรภาพดังกล่าว แทนที่เราจะมัววิงวอนเรียกร้องให้เกิดความเปลี่ยนแปลงที่ถูกใจเรา ไม่ดีกว่าหรือหากเราพยายามพัฒนาตนบ่มเพาะจิตใจให้เข้าถึงอิสรภาพดังกล่าว ควบคู่ไปกับการสร้างสรรค์สิ่งดีงามให้เกิดขึ้นแก่ตนเองและสังคม

credit : Suphan Click!!

@ 9e69e420:d12360c2

President Trump has intensified immigration enforcement, likening it to a wartime effort. Despite pouring resources into the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), arrest numbers are declining and falling short of goals. ICE fell from about 800 daily arrests in late January to fewer than 600 in early February.

Critics argue the administration is merely showcasing efforts with ineffectiveness, while Trump seeks billions more in funding to support his deportation agenda. Increased involvement from various federal agencies is intended to assist ICE, but many lack specific immigration training.

Challenges persist, as fewer immigrants are available for quick deportation due to a decline in illegal crossings. Local sheriffs are also pressured by rising demands to accommodate immigrants, which may strain resources further.

@ fd208ee8:0fd927c1

E-cash are coupons or tokens for Bitcoin, or Bitcoin debt notes that the mint issues. The e-cash states, essentially, "IoU 2900 sats".

They're redeemable for Bitcoin on Lightning (hard money), and therefore can be used as cash (softer money), so long as the mint has a good reputation. That means that they're less fungible than Lightning because the e-cash from one mint can be more or less valuable than the e-cash from another. If a mint is buggy, offline, or disappears, then the e-cash is unreedemable.

It also means that e-cash is more anonymous than Lightning, and that the sender and receiver's wallets don't need to be online, to transact. Nutzaps now add the possibility of parking transactions one level farther out, on a relay. The same relays that cannot keep npub profiles and follow lists consistent will now do monetary transactions.

What we then have is * a transaction on a relay that triggers * a transaction on a mint that triggers * a transaction on Lightning that triggers * a transaction on Bitcoin.

Which means that every relay that stores the nuts is part of a wildcat banking system. Which is fine, but relay operators should consider whether they wish to carry the associated risks and liabilities. They should also be aware that they should implement the appropriate features in their relay, such as expiration tags (nuts rot after 2 weeks), and to make sure that only expired nuts are deleted.

There will be plenty of specialized relays for this, so don't feel pressured to join in, and research the topic carefully, for yourself.

https://github.com/nostr-protocol/nips/blob/master/60.md

@ 0b118e40:4edc09cb

My week started off with a lovely message from a friend : “I often think about you. Especially during times when it requires me to be more resilient and have faith in myself. I always carry your note in the book you gave me, “what the dog saw” And it always gives me courage and I send a little prayer your way”.

This friend of mine was dealing with the undercurrent of discrimination in my alma mater when we first met, and I helped out. It's something anybody would have done, but surprisingly, nobody else showed up. We’ve stayed in touch over the years, and my friend went on to help a lot of other people along the way.

I don’t remember what I wrote in that note. It’s something I tend to do (write notes, give books, write notes in books). But the message boomeranged back to me at a time when I needed to hold the line. To keep the faith.

Most of us don’t talk about our struggles. And sometimes the smallest act, which could just be a kind word or a reminder of the person you are, can carry farther than we imagine.

On the act of giving

There’s a book called Give and Take by Adam Grant. I picked it up hoping to learn how to take, because it’s always been easier to give and harder to accept help. But what I learned was something else entirely.

Grant studied over 30,000 people across different companies and grouped them into three types: * Givers * Matchers * Takers

Based on his studies, givers often finish last... They struggle the most. They burn out. They get overlooked. They’re too trusting.

But oddly, they also rise to the very top.

Matchers are the scorekeepers, the “I’ll help you if you help me” kind. They make up most of the population. The fascinating thing about tit-for-tat is that if someone’s kind, they reciprocate. But if someone acts like a jerk, they return the energy, and over time, it becomes a pool of spoiled milk. Matchers are a lukewarm, forgettable kind of network.

Takers are the ones chasing attention, always aligning themselves with whoever looks powerful. They tend to float toward status and soak up what they can. But they often portray themselves as kind and giving.

One example Grant shared was Enron's Kenneth Lay, who was at the center of one of the biggest corporate scandals in U.S. history. He hung around wherever he’d get seen or validated. He funded both Bush and Clinton, hedging his bets on who might win by securing proximity. Sadly, when Enron crumbled, he died of a heart attack before his prison sentencing.

Most people steer clear from takers because they are just exhausting. And takers often collapse under the weight of their own games.

But takers aren’t the lowest performers. That spot belongs to a certain kind of giver—the self-neglecting kind. The ones with no boundaries, no clarity, and no self-awareness. They give in to avoid conflict, to feel worthy, or because they don’t know how to say no. And when life breaks them, they point fingers.

Then there’s the other kind of giver. The ones who build trust and build people up without asking for a receipt.

These givers: 1. Give without expectation, from a place of purpose 2. Build and uplift others without seeking credit 3. Set boundaries and walk away when giving turns into draining

This group of givers rarely talk much about what they do for others. But when you hear about it or see it, it stays with you. It makes you want to show up a little better.

Why open source environments feels like home

The more I thought about it, the more I saw how deeply open source reflects that kind of giving that ends up right at the top.

In open source, you don’t last if it’s just about ego. You can’t fake it. There are no titles, no awards. You either show up to build and help, or you don’t.

People who give without needing to be seen are the ones the community leans on. You can tell when someone’s pretending to care. It’s in their tone, their urgency and their sense of transaction. The genuine ones don’t need to brand themselves as generous. They just are.

Open source works because giving is the default setting. The work speaks volumes and generosity compounds. The system filters for people who show up with purpose and stay consistent.

It’s also why the ones who whine, posture, or manipulate rarely last. They might call themselves givers, but they’re not fooling anyone who’s actually doing the work.

Adam Grant found that for giver cultures to thrive, takers have to be removed. They need to be pruned. Because takers poison the well. They drain givers, shift the culture from contribution to calculation, and unravel the trust that holds open systems together.

When hope boomerangs

That note is something I don’t remember writing. But it found its way back to me, and it was a good reminder to take my own advice and keep the faith.

And maybe that’s the point.

You do a small thing. And years later, it circles back when it matters most. Not because you expected it. But because you mattered.

According to Grant, givers do best when they combine generosity with grit and strategy. They create networks built on goodwill, which eventually open doors others don’t even know exist.

So if you’re wondering where I’m going with this, do something genuinely kind for someone today. Even if it’s as simple as sending a kind note. Not for you to be seen or heard. And not for you to keep scores.

But, just because.

@ e3ba5e1a:5e433365

My favorite line in any Marvel movie ever is in “Captain America.” After Captain America launches seemingly a hopeless assault on Red Skull’s base and is captured, we get this line:

“Arrogance may not be a uniquely American trait, but I must say, you do it better than anyone.”

Yesterday, I came across a comment on the song Devil Went Down to Georgia that had a very similar feel to it:

America has seemingly always been arrogant, in a uniquely American way. Manifest Destiny, for instance. The rest of the world is aware of this arrogance, and mocks Americans for it. A central point in modern US politics is the deriding of racist, nationalist, supremacist Americans.

That’s not what I see. I see American Arrogance as not only a beautiful statement about what it means to be American. I see it as an ode to the greatness of humanity in its purest form.

For most countries, saying “our nation is the greatest” is, in fact, twinged with some level of racism. I still don’t have a problem with it. Every group of people should be allowed to feel pride in their accomplishments. The destruction of the human spirit since the end of World War 2, where greatness has become a sin and weakness a virtue, has crushed the ability of people worldwide to strive for excellence.

But I digress. The fears of racism and nationalism at least have a grain of truth when applied to other nations on the planet. But not to America.

That’s because the definition of America, and the prototype of an American, has nothing to do with race. The definition of Americanism is freedom. The founding of America is based purely on liberty. On the God-given rights of every person to live life the way they see fit.

American Arrogance is not a statement of racial superiority. It’s barely a statement of national superiority (though it absolutely is). To me, when an American comments on the greatness of America, it’s a statement about freedom. Freedom will always unlock the greatness inherent in any group of people. Americans are definitionally better than everyone else, because Americans are freer than everyone else. (Or, at least, that’s how it should be.)

In Devil Went Down to Georgia, Johnny is approached by the devil himself. He is challenged to a ridiculously lopsided bet: a golden fiddle versus his immortal soul. He acknowledges the sin in accepting such a proposal. And yet he says, “God, I know you told me not to do this. But I can’t stand the affront to my honor. I am the greatest. The devil has nothing on me. So God, I’m gonna sin, but I’m also gonna win.”

Libertas magnitudo est

@ 04c915da:3dfbecc9

Capitalism is the most effective system for scaling innovation. The pursuit of profit is an incredibly powerful human incentive. Most major improvements to human society and quality of life have resulted from this base incentive. Market competition often results in the best outcomes for all.

That said, some projects can never be monetized. They are open in nature and a business model would centralize control. Open protocols like bitcoin and nostr are not owned by anyone and if they were it would destroy the key value propositions they provide. No single entity can or should control their use. Anyone can build on them without permission.

As a result, open protocols must depend on donation based grant funding from the people and organizations that rely on them. This model works but it is slow and uncertain, a grind where sustainability is never fully reached but rather constantly sought. As someone who has been incredibly active in the open source grant funding space, I do not think people truly appreciate how difficult it is to raise charitable money and deploy it efficiently.

Projects that can be monetized should be. Profitability is a super power. When a business can generate revenue, it taps into a self sustaining cycle. Profit fuels growth and development while providing projects independence and agency. This flywheel effect is why companies like Google, Amazon, and Apple have scaled to global dominance. The profit incentive aligns human effort with efficiency. Businesses must innovate, cut waste, and deliver value to survive.

Contrast this with non monetized projects. Without profit, they lean on external support, which can dry up or shift with donor priorities. A profit driven model, on the other hand, is inherently leaner and more adaptable. It is not charity but survival. When survival is tied to delivering what people want, scale follows naturally.

The real magic happens when profitable, sustainable businesses are built on top of open protocols and software. Consider the many startups building on open source software stacks, such as Start9, Mempool, and Primal, offering premium services on top of the open source software they build out and maintain. Think of companies like Block or Strike, which leverage bitcoin’s open protocol to offer their services on top. These businesses amplify the open software and protocols they build on, driving adoption and improvement at a pace donations alone could never match.

When you combine open software and protocols with profit driven business the result are lean, sustainable companies that grow faster and serve more people than either could alone. Bitcoin’s network, for instance, benefits from businesses that profit off its existence, while nostr will expand as developers monetize apps built on the protocol.

Capitalism scales best because competition results in efficiency. Donation funded protocols and software lay the groundwork, while market driven businesses build on top. The profit incentive acts as a filter, ensuring resources flow to what works, while open systems keep the playing field accessible, empowering users and builders. Together, they create a flywheel of innovation, growth, and global benefit.

@ c1e6505c:02b3157e

“Put that camera down, you bitch,” someone yelled out of a car as it drove by with the door wide open.

I had a little time in Savannah yesterday to walk around and take some photos. I tend to wander through the rougher areas — not just in Savannah, but in any city I visit. I’m drawn to the spots most people avoid. Not the tourist zones, but the alleys, the quiet, broken-down neighborhoods where the grit is.

I’ve photographed Savannah a lot over the past few years, so it’s getting harder to find places I haven’t already been. But every now and then, I’ll stumble on a back street or alley I’ve never seen before, and in it, something I’m almost certain no one else has photographed.

There’s something about walking aimlessly with a camera that I find incredibly fulfilling. Honestly, if I could do just that for the rest of my life — wander around and photograph things that most people overlook — I’d be content.

There’s a quote I heard recently - can’t remember who said it — but it stuck with me. It was something like: “It’s better to be aimless than to be rigid with a plan.” Because when you’re too locked into a goal, you might miss the opportunities that pop up along the way. You need to stay flexible, fluid—open to what the world hands you.

That’s how I feel about photography. I’ll walk for hours—sometimes five to ten miles — just to see what shows up. It becomes a game. A game between me, the camera, the street, and whatever decides to show up that day.

Usually, it takes a few warm-up shots to get into it — just pictures of objects, whatever catches my eye. But once I find a rhythm, it’s like the world starts to reveal itself. The good stuff comes out of hiding.

That’s what real photography is to me. Not staging scenes or setting up portraits—that’s more like illustration, as Garry Winogrand would say. What I care about is life. Life unfolding right in front of you. Life happening.

Thank you for your attention. Please consider donating a few sats if you enjoy my work. It goes a long way. If not, please share. Thank you.

@ daa41bed:88f54153

There has been a good bit of discussion on Nostr over the past few days about the merits of zaps as a method of engaging with notes, so after writing a rather lengthy article on the pros of a strategic Bitcoin reserve, I wanted to take some time to chime in on the much more fun topic of digital engagement.

Let's begin by defining a couple of things:

Nostr is a decentralized, censorship-resistance protocol whose current biggest use case is social media (think Twitter/X). Instead of relying on company servers, it relies on relays that anyone can spin up and own their own content. Its use cases are much bigger, though, and this article is hosted on my own relay, using my own Nostr relay as an example.

Zap is a tip or donation denominated in sats (small units of Bitcoin) sent from one user to another. This is generally done directly over the Lightning Network but is increasingly using Cashu tokens. For the sake of this discussion, how you transmit/receive zaps will be irrelevant, so don't worry if you don't know what Lightning or Cashu are.

If we look at how users engage with posts and follows/followers on platforms like Twitter, Facebook, etc., it becomes evident that traditional social media thrives on engagement farming. The more outrageous a post, the more likely it will get a reaction. We see a version of this on more visual social platforms like YouTube and TikTok that use carefully crafted thumbnail images to grab the user's attention to click the video. If you'd like to dive deep into the psychology and science behind social media engagement, let me know, and I'd be happy to follow up with another article.

In this user engagement model, a user is given the option to comment or like the original post, or share it among their followers to increase its signal. They receive no value from engaging with the content aside from the dopamine hit of the original experience or having their comment liked back by whatever influencer they provide value to. Ad revenue flows to the content creator. Clout flows to the content creator. Sales revenue from merch and content placement flows to the content creator. We call this a linear economy -- the idea that resources get created, used up, then thrown away. Users create content and farm as much engagement as possible, then the content is forgotten within a few hours as they move on to the next piece of content to be farmed.

What if there were a simple way to give value back to those who engage with your content? By implementing some value-for-value model -- a circular economy. Enter zaps.

Unlike traditional social media platforms, Nostr does not actively use algorithms to determine what content is popular, nor does it push content created for active user engagement to the top of a user's timeline. Yes, there are "trending" and "most zapped" timelines that users can choose to use as their default, but these use relatively straightforward engagement metrics to rank posts for these timelines.

That is not to say that we may not see clients actively seeking to refine timeline algorithms for specific metrics. Still, the beauty of having an open protocol with media that is controlled solely by its users is that users who begin to see their timeline gamed towards specific algorithms can choose to move to another client, and for those who are more tech-savvy, they can opt to run their own relays or create their own clients with personalized algorithms and web of trust scoring systems.

Zaps enable the means to create a new type of social media economy in which creators can earn for creating content and users can earn by actively engaging with it. Like and reposting content is relatively frictionless and costs nothing but a simple button tap. Zaps provide active engagement because they signal to your followers and those of the content creator that this post has genuine value, quite literally in the form of money—sats.

I have seen some comments on Nostr claiming that removing likes and reactions is for wealthy people who can afford to send zaps and that the majority of people in the US and around the world do not have the time or money to zap because they have better things to spend their money like feeding their families and paying their bills. While at face value, these may seem like valid arguments, they, unfortunately, represent the brainwashed, defeatist attitude that our current economic (and, by extension, social media) systems aim to instill in all of us to continue extracting value from our lives.

Imagine now, if those people dedicating their own time (time = money) to mine pity points on social media would instead spend that time with genuine value creation by posting content that is meaningful to cultural discussions. Imagine if, instead of complaining that their posts get no zaps and going on a tirade about how much of a victim they are, they would empower themselves to take control of their content and give value back to the world; where would that leave us? How much value could be created on a nascent platform such as Nostr, and how quickly could it overtake other platforms?

Other users argue about user experience and that additional friction (i.e., zaps) leads to lower engagement, as proven by decades of studies on user interaction. While the added friction may turn some users away, does that necessarily provide less value? I argue quite the opposite. You haven't made a few sats from zaps with your content? Can't afford to send some sats to a wallet for zapping? How about using the most excellent available resource and spending 10 seconds of your time to leave a comment? Likes and reactions are valueless transactions. Social media's real value derives from providing monetary compensation and actively engaging in a conversation with posts you find interesting or thought-provoking. Remember when humans thrived on conversation and discussion for entertainment instead of simply being an onlooker of someone else's life?

If you've made it this far, my only request is this: try only zapping and commenting as a method of engagement for two weeks. Sure, you may end up liking a post here and there, but be more mindful of how you interact with the world and break yourself from blind instinct. You'll thank me later.

@ a296b972:e5a7a2e8

***Unserestaatsanwaltschaft***

Die Staatsanwaltschaft Aachen prüft Ermittlungen gegen Unbekannt in Sachen Cum-Ex. Hierfür konnte die ehemalige Chefanklägerin Brohilker als externe Expertin gewonnen werden. Korrektur, die Staatsanwaltschaft prüft Ermittlungen gegen Frau Brohilker. „Richtig so“, sagen Experten. „Es sind doch nur 43 Milliarden im Bermuda-Dreieck verschollen. Man muss auch mal Ruhe geben, genauso, wie bei Corona“. Dank schon heute an Unserestaatsanwaltschaft.

***Bundesamt für Fassungslosigkeit***

Ein Enkel hat die Kochrezepte seiner Großmutter zusammengetragen und veröffentlicht. Ausschließlich Rezepte aus Ostpreußen, Pommern und Schlesien. Das gesamte Kochbuch ist jetzt als Nazi-Küche eingestuft worden, weil der Urenkel die Grenze des guten Geschmacks, also die Oder-Neisse-Linie, dadurch missachtet hat. Weiter wurde ihm Russenfreundlichkeit vorgeworfen, weil auch ein Rezept für Königsberger Klopse abgedruckt wurde.

***Stillhaltezusage***

Die vom Bundesamt für Verfassungsschutz ausgesprochene Stillhaltezusage hat Zahnärzte auf die Idee gebracht, diese vor Behandlung von ihren Patienten unterschreiben zu lassen. Widerstand ist zwecklos.

***Paragraphenerweiterung***

Das Würgen des Menschen ist unfassbar. Jeder, der sich dafür einsetzt, dass wieder die Vernunft in Deutschland Einzug hält, wird mit einem Urlaub mit dem Corona-Minister II nicht unter 6 Wochen bestraft.

***Freie Kapazitäten beim Verfassungsschutz***

Das als gesichert stillgehaltene Gutachten hat gezeigt, dass das Bundesamt über erhebliche Kapazitäten verfügt. Diese sollen jetzt gebündelt dazu verwendet werden, die Messerattentate und den Tatbestand der selbstfahrenden Autos in Menschenmengen lückenlos aufzuklären. Erfahrung bei dem Zusammentragen von öffentlichen Zitaten verspricht nun endlich eine zeitnahe Aufklärung.

***Sonderdezernat beim schutzverfassenden Bundesamt***

Die Sprengung der Nordstream 2-Pipeline war ein terroristischer Anschlag auf die Energieversorgung von Deutschland und ganz Europa. Zur nun endgültigen Aufklärung nach nur wenigen Jahren wurde ein Sonderdezernat mit dem Code-Namen „Task Force Peng“ eingerichtet. Man hat bereits Kontakt zu Seymour Hersh aufgenommen, doch der ist zurzeit mit einem Segelboot namens „Andromeda“ auf Weltumrundung unterwegs.

***Eurovision Song Contest***

Der ESC ist eine absolut politisch neutrale Sing-Veranstaltung, bei der persönliche Angriffe gegen Repräsentanten und Innen stets im Bereich des Unmöglichen bleiben. Auch solidarische Gewinnerermittlung zur Unterstützung eines bestimmten Landes entbehrt jeder Grundlage, wie die Vergangenheit wiederholt gezeigt hat.

***Drehtüreffekt***

Das Infragestellen von Personen, die von der Politik in die Medien oder umgekehrt wechseln, hat nichts mit Interessenkonflikten zu tun. Im Gegenteil: Es werden so Kompetenzen ressourcenschonend anschlussverwendet.

***‘Aufrüstung in Deutschland***

Nachdem man zunächst einen Feind erfunden hat, der keine Lust hat, einer zu sein, ist die zwingend logische Schlussfolgerung daraus, dass man jetzt auch wieder die zentrale Macht in Europa werden will. Das freut die Nachbarn, und wie schon in der Ukraine in 2022, beginnt die neue deutsche Zeitrechnung jetzt in 2025. Man ist zu der Überzeugung gelangt, dass Vorgeschichten von Nationen völlig überbewertet werden.

***Vergleich unzulässig***

Die geplante Zerschlagung des Kapitalismus durch die Linke ist etwas völlig anderes, als die Bekämpfung des Kapitalismus zugunsten des Sozialismus durch die SED, weil es damals um die Deutsche Mark ging und heute schließlich um den Euro.

***Bevorstehende Hitzewelle Sommer 2025***

Nach den vergeblichen zwei Anläufen durch plötzlich und unerwarteten Regen in den Jahren 2023 und 2024 ist man sich nun ganz sicher, dass die Erdverkochung durch die Klimawandelung im dritten Anlauf stattfinden wird. Es wurden schon Bodentemperaturen gemessen.

***Neueintrag im Knigge***

Ab sofort schickt es sich nicht, dass vollgeschnaufte Taschentücher auf dem Tisch liegengelassen werden dürfen, wenn die Kamera angeht. Auch Kratzlöffel, wenn der Rücken mal juckt, sind vor Einschalten der Kamera zu entfernen.

***Meinungsfreiheit***

Jeder darf die ihm von den Weisen der Wahrheit vorgegebene Meinung so oft wiederholen und aussprechen, wie er will. Eine Limitierung der Wiederholungen findet nicht statt.

***Selbstbestimmungsgesetz erweitert***

Das Selbstbestimmungsgesetz wurde jetzt erweitert: Man darf sich auch als Finanzamt definieren. Das hat den Vorteil, dass sich der Steuerpflichtige seine Steuerzahlungen auf sein eigenes Konto überweisen kann, um selbst zu entscheiden, wofür die Gelder der Allgemeinheit dienend, ausgegeben werden sollen.

***US-Verbot von Gain-of-Function Forschung***

Dafür, dass deutsche Unternehmen aufgrund der unbezahlbaren Energiekosten ihre Produktionsstätten ins Ausland verlagern, werden in deutschen Bio-Laboren die freigesetzten US-Kapazitäten aus der Forschung mit Kusshand aufgenommen. Operation Paperclip II, nur umgekehrt.

***Deutscher Weltrekord***

Noch nie wurden Ankündigungen in einem Koalitionsvertrag so schnell entsorgt, wie nach den Anfang Mai 2025 stattgefundenen Wahlen. Der verbleibende Rest sind Kann-Bestimmungen, für die sicher ein Grund gefunden wird, warum das Geld zur Umsetzung fehlt.

Dieser Artikel wurde mit dem Pareto-Client geschrieben

* *

(Bild von pixabay)

@ e3ba5e1a:5e433365

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

@ 9e69e420:d12360c2

Federal employees must remove pronouns from email signatures by the end of the day. This directive comes from internal memos tied to two executive orders signed by Donald Trump. The orders target diversity and equity programs within the government.

CDC, Department of Transportation, and Department of Energy employees were affected. Staff were instructed to make changes in line with revised policy prohibiting certain language.

One CDC employee shared frustration, stating, “In my decade-plus years at CDC, I've never been told what I can and can't put in my email signature.” The directive is part of a broader effort to eliminate DEI initiatives from federal discourse.

@ a5ee4475:2ca75401

lista #descentralismo #compilado #portugues

*Algumas destas listas ainda estão sendo trocadas, portanto as versões mais recentes delas só estão visíveis no Amethyst por causa da ferramenta de edição.

Clients do Nostr e Outras Coisas

nostr:naddr1qq245dz5tqe8w46swpphgmr4f3047s6629t45qg4waehxw309aex2mrp0yhxgctdw4eju6t09upzpf0wg36k3g3hygndv3cp8f2j284v0hfh4dqgqjj3yxnreck2w4qpqvzqqqr4guxde6sl

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Modelos de IA e Ferramentas

nostr:naddr1qq24xwtyt9v5wjzefe6523j32dy5ga65gagkjqgswaehxw309ahx7um5wghx6mmd9upzpf0wg36k3g3hygndv3cp8f2j284v0hfh4dqgqjj3yxnreck2w4qpqvzqqqr4guk62czu

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Iniciativas de Bitcoin

nostr:naddr1qvzqqqr4gupzpf0wg36k3g3hygndv3cp8f2j284v0hfh4dqgqjj3yxnreck2w4qpqq2nvmn5va9x2nrxfd2k5smyf3ux7vesd9znyqxygt4

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Profissionais Brasileiros no Nostr

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Comunidades em Português no Nostr

nostr:naddr1qq2hwcejv4ykgdf3v9gxykrxfdqk753jxcc4gqg4waehxw309aex2mrp0yhxgctdw4eju6t09upzpf0wg36k3g3hygndv3cp8f2j284v0hfh4dqgqjj3yxnreck2w4qpqvzqqqr4gu455fm3

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Grupos em Português no Nostr

nostr:nevent1qqs98kldepjmlxngupsyth40n0h5lw7z5ut5w4scvh27alc0w86tevcpzpmhxue69uhkummnw3ezumt0d5hsygy7fff8g6l23gp5uqtuyqwkqvucx6mhe7r9h7v6wyzzj0v6lrztcspsgqqqqqqs3ndneh

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Jogos de Código Aberto

Open Source Games nostr:naddr1qvzqqqr4gupzpf0wg36k3g3hygndv3cp8f2j284v0hfh4dqgqjj3yxnreck2w4qpqq2kvwp3v4hhvk2sw3j5sm6h23g5wkz5ddzhz8x40v0

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Itens Úteis com Esquemas Disponíveis

nostr:naddr1qqgrqvp5vd3kycejxask2efcv4jr2qgswaehxw309ahx7um5wghx6mmd9upzpf0wg36k3g3hygndv3cp8f2j284v0hfh4dqgqjj3yxnreck2w4qpqvzqqqr4guc43v6c

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Formatação de Texto em Markdown

(Amethyst, Yakihone e outros) nostr:naddr1qvzqqqr4gupzpf0wg36k3g3hygndv3cp8f2j284v0hfh4dqgqjj3yxnreck2w4qpqq2454m8dfzn26z4f34kvu6fw4rysnrjxfm42wfpe90

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Outros Links

nostr:nevent1qqsrm6ywny5r7ajakpppp0lt525n0s33x6tyn6pz0n8ws8k2tqpqracpzpmhxue69uhkummnw3ezumt0d5hsygp6e5ns0nv3dun430jky25y4pku6ylz68rz6zs7khv29q6rj5peespsgqqqqqqsmfwa78

@ f1989a96:bcaaf2c1

Good morning, readers!

We bring news from the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), where the Rwanda-backed M23 rebel group is imposing immense taxes on the local economy, merchants, and aid groups to fund its insurgency as it seeks to govern seized regions of the Eastern Congo. The levies worsen economic hardship for Congolese already suffering from ongoing cash shortages, bank closures, and rapidly rising prices induced by the regional conflict.

Meanwhile, in Hong Kong, independent media outlet Channel C, founded by former Apple Daily employees, had its bank account frozen by local officials over alleged fraud charges. The closure fits into a widespread pattern of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) leveraging financial repression and legal pressure to silence independent and pro-democracy media in Hong Kong.

In freedom tech news, we highlight a new ecash development: multinut payments. These payments let users combine small balances held at different ecash mints to pay a single invoice. It’s a big step forward in terms of usability and security for human rights defenders since they no longer need to keep a large balance of ecash at any one mint. This reduces the chances of stolen funds while maintaining strong privacy guarantees. We also highlight the ongoing OP_RETURN debate in the Bitcoin community, present both sides of the argument, and invite our readers to watch a nuanced debate on this topic.

We end with the latest edition of the HRF x Pubkey Freedom Tech series, where the Human Rights Foundation’s Alex Gladstein discusses the upcoming Oslo Freedom Forum and HRF’s role in supporting open-source freedom tech with Pubkey’s co-founder, Thomas Pacchia. We also include the livestreams from the latest bitcoin++ event, where developers, privacy advocates, and freedom tech users convened to discuss Bitcoin’s mempool, learn how Bitcoin transactions are sorted into blocks, and discuss current mempool policies.

Now, let’s jump right in!

SUBSCRIBE HERE

GLOBAL NEWS

DR Congo | Rebel Rule and Economic Ruin

After seizing control of large parts of the eastern Congo, the Paul Kagame-backed M23 rebel group is now trying to govern and fund its insurgency through coercive taxation and financial control. Rebels now impose a 15% tax on coltan metal production, 20% duties on merchants selling essential goods, and demand tax bills from aid groups, backed by threats of physical punishment. “If you don’t pay up, you risk being whipped,” one merchant said. The new levies are worsening the financial struggles for Congolese already suffering from ongoing cash shortages, bank closures, and rapidly rising prices induced by the regional conflict. Many must travel hundreds of kilometers just to obtain cash while navigating the backdrop of a humanitarian crisis that has claimed more than 7,000 lives.

China | Law Enforcement Freezes Bank Accounts of Independent Media Outlet Channel C

Hong Kong-based Channel C, an independent media outlet founded by former Apple Daily employees, reports that its bank accounts are frozen, forcing the news outlet to halt operations. Local law enforcement claim the outlet abused a COVID-era loan scheme and arrested one of its directors for alleged fraud. Still, the closure fits a well-worn pattern: using financial and legal repression to silence independent media in Hong Kong. Pro-democracy newspaper Apple Daily faced a nearly identical fate in 2021 when its assets were seized and its founder, Jimmy Lai, was imprisoned under Hong Kong’s new national security law. Lai now faces up to life in prison. When access to money becomes contingent on political obedience, press freedom can’t survive.

Venezuela | Blackouts, Inflation, and Currency Shortages

Venezuelans are once again bracing for economic collapse as inflation rises to 162% and electrical blackouts sweep across major cities. The situation echoes 2019’s political and financial chaos, where triple-digit inflation, foreign currency shortages, and power outages paralyzed the country. In reaction to the collapse, Nicolás Maduro approved the country’s first economic emergency decree in four years, granting himself broad powers to suspend taxes and authorize new benefits for select investors. The regime has also reshuffled central bank leadership and is pressing merchants to abandon US dollar pricing and return to the failing bolivar system — a clear move to financially asphyxiate Venezuelans. A focus on top-down economic management by Maduro’s regime will only reinforce the inflation and poverty driving this widespread crisis in the wake of Maduro’s stolen and blatantly rigged presidential election.

Bolivia | Inflation Accelerates to 17-Year High

Inflation in Bolivia is accelerating rapidly, with prices rising more than 15% year over year. This is the highest level of inflation Bolivians have seen in 17 years. Families now face increased costs of essential goods like food, shelter, and water. And the country’s fixed exchange rate system is also faltering, with dwindling reserves and growing dollar shortages compounding the price increases. The Bolivian regime also approved a new decree to regulate financial technology companies and virtual asset providers. The regulations tighten control over platforms that offer alternatives to the depreciating boliviano. If implemented rigidly, these regulations could restrict access to tools like Bitcoin.

Nicaragua | Ortega Centralizes Passport Renewal in Managua for Exiled Dissidents

The regime of Daniel Ortega has stripped Nicaraguans abroad of a basic right: the ability to renew their passports at local embassies abroad. All renewals must now go through the Nicaraguan capital of Managua, forcing exiles to either return home or authorize a relative (via an apostilled power of attorney) to handle the renewal on their behalf. For many outside Nicaragua, especially political opposition, journalists, and human rights defenders, returning is not a safe option, and involving relatives could expose them to state repression or retaliation. Those who do return risk facing the immense physical and financial repression of the Ortega regime, including surveillance, extortion, bank freezes, or even imprisonment. Ortega’s corruption of even basic bureaucracy undermines the growing Nicaraguan diaspora’s ability to live freely abroad by making their legal status, mobility, and access to financial services conditional.

Kenya | High Court Rules Against Sam Altman and Worldcoin

A Kenyan High Court ruled that Worldcoin, the biometric ID project co-founded by Sam Altman, CEO of OpenAI, violated constitutional privacy rights by collecting iris scans and facial images without proper safeguards. The court ordered the immediate deletion of all biometric data collected from Kenyan users, including iris scans and facial images. They also banned the project from conducting any further data collection. Kenya had been one of Worldcoin’s largest markets before authorities suspended the project in 2023. As biometric surveillance becomes more widespread, this case highlights the risks of technologies that undermine privacy in the name of inclusion.

BITCOIN AND FREEDOM TECH NEWS

Cashu | Make Ecash Payments from Multiple Mints

Cashu, a protocol for making private bitcoin payments using ecash, shared a new feature called multinut payments. Still in development, it enables users to combine small ecash balances held at different mints (entities that issue and redeem ecash) into a single transaction. Since Cashu is a custodial system (meaning users must trust the mints they use), this update reduces counterparty risk by allowing users to spread their funds across multiple mints rather than relying on just one. Previously, making a large ecash payment required keeping a sizeable balance at a single mint, increasing the chances of losing your funds if the mint were shut down or compromised. Now, larger payments can be made with significantly less custody risk. For those living under strict financial controls, ecash multinut payments offer a very private way to spend funds without trusting any single entity that can censor or debank them.

Bitika | Bridging Bitcoin and M-Pesa in Kenya

Bitika is a Kenyan fintech startup simplifying Bitcoin access. It integrates with M-Pesa, the mobile money platform used daily for payments by millions of people across Kenya and wider East Africa. Bitika offers a three-step process to buy Bitcoin via mobile phone using the Lightning Network. Users simply enter the amount of Bitcoin they would like to receive in Kenyan shillings, input their Bitcoin Lightning wallet address, and enter their M-Pesa number, and once confirmed, they receive their Bitcoin. Bitika is similar to other Bitcoin projects like Tando, which also bridges Bitcoin with M-Pesa using the Lightning Network. With plans to expand across the rest of Africa, Bitika shows Bitcoin’s grassroots utility and the role of local context in driving bottom-up financial inclusion. Try it here.

Frostsnap | New Bitcoin Multisig Custody Solution

Frostsnap is a new Bitcoin custody solution that uses a simplified multisignature setup to protect users' funds from theft, loss, or coercion by corrupt and authoritarian regimes. Rather than generating and storing private keys on a single device, multisignature solutions like Frostsnap employ multiple private keys distributed across different devices and locations. This approach eliminates single points of failure and offers strong resistance to physical attacks, device compromise, and forced access to users’ Bitcoin (such as from Chinese law enforcement, who surveil mail and extort Bitcoin). Frostsnap also offers the ability to spend directly from the multisig wallet, hide the wallet in times of duress, and access inheritance features, all critical functionalities for human rights defenders and nonprofits facing surveillance or financial repression. Learn more here.

OP_RETURN | Debate Over Bitcoin Core’s Data Relay Limits

A heated debate has resurfaced between some Bitcoin users and developers over whether to raise the size limit for OP_RETURN data that Bitcoin Core nodes (computers running Bitcoin’s main software implementation) relay. The debate was sparked when developer Peter Todd proposed removing this data limit from mempool policy on the basis that it could reduce reliance on direct miner connections, improve fee estimation, and shrink the Unspent Transaction Output (UTXO) set. It would do this by encouraging users to store arbitrary data in prunable, unspendable outputs (rather than spendable, persistent UTXOs). On the other hand, critics warn that lifting the OP_RETURN limit could increase spam, undermine Bitcoin’s focus on serving financial transactions, and weaken its censorship resistance. The debate still continues, but at its core, the disagreement highlights deeper tensions over what kinds of data should flow through the Bitcoin network. Tune into this discussion at the latest bitcoin++ developer conference to understand the nuance on both sides of the OP_RETURN debate.

Wasabi Wallet | Major Privacy Upgrade and Serverless Operation

Wasabi Wallet, a non-custodial, privacy-focused Bitcoin wallet, introduced its Prometheus update, which enables the wallet to synchronize and operate without a central server and increases transaction privacy. Users can now connect Wasabi directly to their own Bitcoin node (computer running the Bitcoin software), removing reliance on third-party infrastructure and reducing the risk of censorship. The update also introduces Coinjoin 2.0, a privacy technique that mixes the inputs of a Bitcoin transaction, in doing so protecting, for example, the identity of a dissident or nonprofit. Coinjoin 2.0 brings a redesigned mixing process that continuously registers coins as they become available. This change improves privacy and strengthens resistance to analysis that dictators can use to track payments.

Cove Wallet | Adds Support for Krux

Cove Wallet, an open-source mobile Bitcoin wallet currently in beta, released v0.4.0, which brings support for Krux hardware wallets. Krux is an open-source software and HRF grantee that turns generic computing devices into hardware wallets for secure Bitcoin self-custody and transactions. It can help decentralize access to Bitcoin and protect freedom and property rights in authoritarian regimes by providing a discrete and modular self-custody solution. By incorporating Krux, Cove offers its users a private, borderless, DIY path to financial sovereignty with no brand-name hardware. Cove Wallet also announced future support for coin control, which will grant users granular control over the specific coins they use in their Bitcoin payments and the ability to improve transaction privacy.

RECOMMENDED CONTENT

HRF x Pubkey — Freedom Tech and the Oslo Freedom Forum with Alex Gladstein

The latest edition of the HRF x Pubkey Freedom Tech series features a fireside chat with Alex Gladstein, chief strategy officer of HRF, in conversation with Pubkey co-founder Tom Pacchia. The discussion explores HRF’s role in funding and supporting open-source Freedom Tech, the upcoming Oslo Freedom Forum and the Freedom Tech track, as well as the human rights paradox of nation-state Bitcoin adoption. Catch the full conversation here.

bitcoin++ Developer Conference Livestream

Last week, bitcoin++ hosted the  “mempool edition” of its Bitcoin developer conference series in Austin, Texas. The event, supported by HRF, brought together Bitcoin developers and freedom tech advocates for multiple days of hands-on development, workshops, and technical discussions surrounding Bitcoin’s mempool (the queue of pending transactions in a Bitcoin node). If you’d like to dive into the technical intricacies, you can catch the key sessions and workshops via live stream. Watch them 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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@ 9e69e420:d12360c2

President Trump plans to withdraw 20,000 U.S. troops from Europe and expects European allies to contribute financially to the remaining military presence. Reported by ANSA, Trump aims to deliver this message to European leaders since taking office. A European diplomat noted, “the costs cannot be borne solely by American taxpayers.”

The Pentagon hasn't commented yet. Trump has previously sought lower troop levels in Europe and had ordered cuts during his first term. The U.S. currently maintains around 65,000 troops in Europe, with total forces reaching 100,000 since the Ukraine invasion. Trump's new approach may shift military focus to the Pacific amid growing concerns about China.

Sauce

@ a5ee4475:2ca75401

lists #descentralismo #compilation #english

*The last list was updated in Amethyst, so the update of this one will only be visible in Amethyst.

nostr:naddr1qq245dz5tqe8w46swpphgmr4f3047s6629t45qg4waehxw309aex2mrp0yhxgctdw4eju6t09upzpf0wg36k3g3hygndv3cp8f2j284v0hfh4dqgqjj3yxnreck2w4qpqvzqqqr4guxde6sl

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AI

nostr:naddr1qq24xwtyt9v5wjzefe6523j32dy5ga65gagkjqgawaehxw309ahx7um5wghxy6t5vdhkjmn9wgh8xmmrd9skctczyzj7u3r4dz3rwg3x6erszwj4y502clwn026qsp99zgdx8n3v5a2qzqcyqqq823c8mw5zk

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FOSS GAME

nostr:naddr1qq2kvwp3v4hhvk2sw3j5sm6h23g5wkz5ddzhzqg4waehxw309aex2mrp0yhxgctdw4eju6t09upzpf0wg36k3g3hygndv3cp8f2j284v0hfh4dqgqjj3yxnreck2w4qpqvzqqqr4gut57qtr

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OSHW - Open Source Hardware

nostr:naddr1qqgrqvp5vd3kycejxask2efcv4jr2qgswaehxw309ahx7um5wghx6mmd9upzpf0wg36k3g3hygndv3cp8f2j284v0hfh4dqgqjj3yxnreck2w4qpqvzqqqr4guc43v6c

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Markdown Uses for Some Clients

nostr:nevent1qqsv54qfgtme38r2tl9v6ghwfj09gdjukealstkzc77mwujr56tgfwsppemhxue69uhkummn9ekx7mp0qgsq37tg2603tu0cqdrxs30e2n5t8p87uenf4fvfepdcvr7nllje5zgrqsqqqqqpkdvta4

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Other Links

nostr:nevent1qqsrm6ywny5r7ajakpppp0lt525n0s33x6tyn6pz0n8ws8k2tqpqracpzpmhxue69uhkummnw3ezumt0d5hsygp6e5ns0nv3dun430jky25y4pku6ylz68rz6zs7khv29q6rj5peespsgqqqqqqsmfwa78

@ 8173f6e1:e488ac0f

asdasdsad222222222222

@ b17fccdf:b7211155

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

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

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

tor --version

Example of expected output:

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

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

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

tor --list-modules

Expected output:

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

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

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

sudo nano /etc/tor/torrc

Example:

```

Hidden Service BTC RPC Explorer

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

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

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

---

More info:

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

---

Enjoy it MiniBolter! 💙

@ 9e69e420:d12360c2

A new report from the National Sports Shooting Foundation (NSSF) shows that civilian firearm possession exceeded 490 million in 2022. The total from 1990 to 2022 is estimated at 491.3 million firearms. In 2022, over ten million firearms were domestically produced, leading to a total of 16,045,911 firearms available in the U.S. market.

Of these, 9,873,136 were handguns, 4,195,192 were rifles, and 1,977,583 were shotguns. Handgun availability aligns with the concealed carry and self-defense market, as all states allow concealed carry, with 29 having constitutional carry laws.

@ 8173f6e1:e488ac0f

TESTNOTEBIN2

@ d9e9fb27:d5fe5e1a

Every 16th of January, the city of Varese, a small town at the feet of the Prealpine region, stops to participate in one of the most important ceremonies of the city: The Falò of Sant'Antonio. A Falò is the Italian word for bonfire. Imagine a 5-meters tall pyre of wood burning in the center of the city. For sure, an unmissable event!

The pyre is built by the so-called "Monelli della Motta". A Monello in Italian is a child that misbehaves. This nickname come from the fact that in the past, the pyre was created using wood stolen from the city, usually from tools, doors and shutters.

This event takes place at the eve of the day of Sant'Antonio Abate in front of the homonymous church in the area called "La Motta", which stands for small hill, and comes from a several century old tradition. Thousands of people from all over the province come to the city to look at the bonfire created in honor of the Saint.

At 9PM the big event starts. The wood is set on fire!

An important tradition of this celebration is burning small pieces of paper containing wishes. People whish for health, love, friendship and luck. To make wishes come true, people have to give these pieces of paper to a firefighter or a "Monello" whom will launch it into the Falò.

The show goes on for a couple of ours, during which thousands of Varesinians in awe contemplate the raging fire and try to receive some heat to fight the glacial cold of January.

@ 6389be64:ef439d32

Black Locust can grow up to 170 ft tall

Grows 3-4 ft. per year

Native to North America

Cold hardy in zones 3 to 8

Firewood

• BLT wood, on a pound for pound basis is roughly half that of Anthracite Coal
• Since its growth is fast, firewood can be plentiful

Timber

• Rot resistant due to a naturally produced robinin in the wood
  • 100 year life span in full soil contact! (better than cedar performance)
  • Fence posts
  • Outdoor furniture
  • Outdoor decking
• Sustainable due to its fast growth and spread
  • Can be coppiced (cut to the ground)
  • Can be pollarded (cut above ground)
• Its dense wood makes durable tool handles, boxes (tool), and furniture
  • The wood is tougher than hickory, which is tougher than hard maple, which is tougher than oak.
  • A very low rate of expansion and contraction
  • Hardwood flooring
  • The highest tensile beam strength of any American tree
• The wood is beautiful

Legume

• Nitrogen fixer
  • Fixes the same amount of nitrogen per acre as is needed for 200-bushel/acre corn
  • Black walnuts inter-planted with locust as “nurse” trees were shown to rapidly increase their growth [[Clark, Paul M., and Robert D. Williams. (1978) Black walnut growth increased when interplanted with nitrogen-fixing shrubs and trees. Proceedings of the Indiana Academy of Science, vol. 88, pp. 88-91.]]

Bees

• The edible flower clusters are also a top food source for honey bees

Shade Provider

• Its light, airy overstory provides dappled shade
  • Planted on the west side of a garden it provides relief during the hottest part of the day
  • (nitrogen provider)
  • Planted on the west side of a house, its quick growth soon shades that side from the sun

Wind-break

• Fast growth plus it's feathery foliage reduces wind for animals, crops, and shelters

Fodder

• Over 20% crude protein
• 4.1 kcal/g of energy
• Baertsche, S.R, M.T. Yokoyama, and J.W. Hanover (1986) Short rotation, hardwood tree biomass as potential ruminant feed-chemical composition, nylon bag ruminal degradation and ensilement of selected species. J. Animal Sci. 63 2028-2043

@ efe5d120:1fc51981

It’s not big government programs or powerful institutions that make a society strong. It’s something much simpler: everyday people trading and working together.

Think about the local hardware store owner. He helps his neighbors, gives people jobs, and provides useful tools. But when the government taxes him too much to fund its programs, it takes away money he could have used to hire someone or visit his family. That hurts both him and the people around him.

This happens all over. Small business owners, tradesmen, inventors and entrepreneurs are the ones who really build up a society. They create value by trading things people want, and both sides benefit. Free trade gives people more choices and helps them live better lives.

But from a young age, we’re told to obey authority without question. We’re taught that without rulers, there would be chaos. But what if that’s not true?

Look around the world: even when governments try to control trade, people still find ways to work together and exchange goods. It’s natural. People want to cooperate and help each other—especially when they’re free to do so.

Here’s the hard truth: if someone can take your money, control your property, and punish you without your agreement, isn’t that a kind of control—or even servitude?

True prosperity doesn’t come from the top down. It comes from people freely working together—farmers, builders, cooks, coders—offering their skills to others who need them.

When trade is free, people do well. When it’s blocked by too many rules or taxes, everyone loses—especially the ones who need help the most.

The answer isn’t more laws or more control. It’s more freedom. Next time someone says we need more government to fix things, ask yourself: wouldn’t free people solve those problems better on their own?

Real civilization isn’t about being ruled. It’s about choosing to work together, trade fairly, and respect each other’s rights. That’s not chaos—that’s freedom.

@ 6389be64:ef439d32

Bitcoin is more than money, more than an asset, and more than a store of value. Bitcoin is a Prime Mover, an enabler and it ignites imaginations. It certainly fueled an idea in my mind. The idea integrates sensors, computational prowess, actuated machinery, power conversion, and electronic communications to form an autonomous, machined creature roaming forests and harvesting the most widespread and least energy-dense fuel source available. I call it the Forest Walker and it eats wood, and mines Bitcoin.

I know what you're thinking. Why not just put Bitcoin mining rigs where they belong: in a hosted facility sporting electricity from energy-dense fuels like natural gas, climate-controlled with excellent data piping in and out? Why go to all the trouble building a robot that digests wood creating flammable gasses fueling an engine to run a generator powering Bitcoin miners? It's all about synergy.

Bitcoin mining enables the realization of multiple, seemingly unrelated, yet useful activities. Activities considered un-profitable if not for Bitcoin as the Prime Mover. This is much more than simply mining the greatest asset ever conceived by humankind. It’s about the power of synergy, which Bitcoin plays only one of many roles. The synergy created by this system can stabilize forests' fire ecology while generating multiple income streams. That’s the realistic goal here and requires a brief history of American Forest management before continuing.

Smokey The Bear

In 1944, the Smokey Bear Wildfire Prevention Campaign began in the United States. “Only YOU can prevent forest fires” remains the refrain of the Ad Council’s longest running campaign. The Ad Council is a U.S. non-profit set up by the American Association of Advertising Agencies and the Association of National Advertisers in 1942. It would seem that the U.S. Department of the Interior was concerned about pesky forest fires and wanted them to stop. So, alongside a national policy of extreme fire suppression they enlisted the entire U.S. population to get onboard via the Ad Council and it worked. Forest fires were almost obliterated and everyone was happy, right? Wrong.

Smokey is a fantastically successful bear so forest fires became so few for so long that the fuel load - dead wood - in forests has become very heavy. So heavy that when a fire happens (and they always happen) it destroys everything in its path because the more fuel there is the hotter that fire becomes. Trees, bushes, shrubs, and all other plant life cannot escape destruction (not to mention homes and businesses). The soil microbiology doesn’t escape either as it is burned away even in deeper soils. To add insult to injury, hydrophobic waxy residues condense on the soil surface, forcing water to travel over the ground rather than through it eroding forest soils. Good job, Smokey. Well done, Sir!

Most terrestrial ecologies are “fire ecologies”. Fire is a part of these systems’ fuel load and pest management. Before we pretended to “manage” millions of acres of forest, fires raged over the world, rarely damaging forests. The fuel load was always too light to generate fires hot enough to moonscape mountainsides. Fires simply burned off the minor amounts of fuel accumulated since the fire before. The lighter heat, smoke, and other combustion gasses suppressed pests, keeping them in check and the smoke condensed into a plant growth accelerant called wood vinegar, not a waxy cap on the soil. These fires also cleared out weak undergrowth, cycled minerals, and thinned the forest canopy, allowing sunlight to penetrate to the forest floor. Without a fire’s heat, many pine tree species can’t sow their seed. The heat is required to open the cones (the seed bearing structure) of Spruce, Cypress, Sequoia, Jack Pine, Lodgepole Pine and many more. Without fire forests can’t have babies. The idea was to protect the forests, and it isn't working.

So, in a world of fire, what does an ally look like and what does it do?

Meet The Forest Walker

For the Forest Walker to work as a mobile, autonomous unit, a solid platform that can carry several hundred pounds is required. It so happens this chassis already exists but shelved.

Introducing the Legged Squad Support System (LS3). A joint project between Boston Dynamics, DARPA, and the United States Marine Corps, the quadrupedal robot is the size of a cow, can carry 400 pounds (180 kg) of equipment, negotiate challenging terrain, and operate for 24 hours before needing to refuel. Yes, it had an engine. Abandoned in 2015, the thing was too noisy for military deployment and maintenance "under fire" is never a high-quality idea. However, we can rebuild it to act as a platform for the Forest Walker; albeit with serious alterations. It would need to be bigger, probably. Carry more weight? Definitely. Maybe replace structural metal with carbon fiber and redesign much as 3D printable parts for more effective maintenance.

The original system has a top operational speed of 8 miles per hour. For our purposes, it only needs to move about as fast as a grazing ruminant. Without the hammering vibrations of galloping into battle, shocks of exploding mortars, and drunken soldiers playing "Wrangler of Steel Machines", time between failures should be much longer and the overall energy consumption much lower. The LS3 is a solid platform to build upon. Now it just needs to be pulled out of the mothballs, and completely refitted with outboard equipment.

The Small Branch Chipper

When I say “Forest fuel load” I mean the dead, carbon containing litter on the forest floor. Duff (leaves), fine-woody debris (small branches), and coarse woody debris (logs) are the fuel that feeds forest fires. Walk through any forest in the United States today and you will see quite a lot of these materials. Too much, as I have described. Some of these fuel loads can be 8 tons per acre in pine and hardwood forests and up to 16 tons per acre at active logging sites. That’s some big wood and the more that collects, the more combustible danger to the forest it represents. It also provides a technically unlimited fuel supply for the Forest Walker system.

The problem is that this detritus has to be chewed into pieces that are easily ingestible by the system for the gasification process (we’ll get to that step in a minute). What we need is a wood chipper attached to the chassis (the LS3); its “mouth”.

A small wood chipper handling material up to 2.5 - 3.0 inches (6.3 - 7.6 cm) in diameter would eliminate a substantial amount of fuel. There is no reason for Forest Walker to remove fallen trees. It wouldn’t have to in order to make a real difference. It need only identify appropriately sized branches and grab them. Once loaded into the chipper’s intake hopper for further processing, the beast can immediately look for more “food”. This is essentially kindling that would help ignite larger logs. If it’s all consumed by Forest Walker, then it’s not present to promote an aggravated conflagration.

I have glossed over an obvious question: How does Forest Walker see and identify branches and such? LiDaR (Light Detection and Ranging) attached to Forest Walker images the local area and feed those data to onboard computers for processing. Maybe AI plays a role. Maybe simple machine learning can do the trick. One thing is for certain: being able to identify a stick and cause robotic appendages to pick it up is not impossible.

Great! We now have a quadrupedal robot autonomously identifying and “eating” dead branches and other light, combustible materials. Whilst strolling through the forest, depleting future fires of combustibles, Forest Walker has already performed a major function of this system: making the forest safer. It's time to convert this low-density fuel into a high-density fuel Forest Walker can leverage. Enter the gasification process.

The Gassifier

The gasifier is the heart of the entire system; it’s where low-density fuel becomes the high-density fuel that powers the entire system. Biochar and wood vinegar are process wastes and I’ll discuss why both are powerful soil amendments in a moment, but first, what’s gasification?

Reacting shredded carbonaceous material at high temperatures in a low or no oxygen environment converts the biomass into biochar, wood vinegar, heat, and Synthesis Gas (Syngas). Syngas consists primarily of hydrogen, carbon monoxide, and methane. All of which are extremely useful fuels in a gaseous state. Part of this gas is used to heat the input biomass and keep the reaction temperature constant while the internal combustion engine that drives the generator to produce electrical power consumes the rest.

Critically, this gasification process is “continuous feed”. Forest Walker must intake biomass from the chipper, process it to fuel, and dump the waste (CO2, heat, biochar, and wood vinegar) continuously. It cannot stop. Everything about this system depends upon this continual grazing, digestion, and excretion of wastes just as a ruminal does. And, like a ruminant, all waste products enhance the local environment.

When I first heard of gasification, I didn’t believe that it was real. Running an electric generator from burning wood seemed more akin to “conspiracy fantasy” than science. Not only is gasification real, it’s ancient technology. A man named Dean Clayton first started experiments on gasification in 1699 and in 1901 gasification was used to power a vehicle. By the end of World War II, there were 500,000 Syngas powered vehicles in Germany alone because of fossil fuel rationing during the war. The global gasification market was $480 billion in 2022 and projected to be as much as $700 billion by 2030 (Vantage Market Research). Gasification technology is the best choice to power the Forest Walker because it’s self-contained and we want its waste products.

Biochar: The Waste

Biochar (AKA agricultural charcoal) is fairly simple: it’s almost pure, solid carbon that resembles charcoal. Its porous nature packs large surface areas into small, 3 dimensional nuggets. Devoid of most other chemistry, like hydrocarbons (methane) and ash (minerals), biochar is extremely lightweight. Do not confuse it with the charcoal you buy for your grill. Biochar doesn’t make good grilling charcoal because it would burn too rapidly as it does not contain the multitude of flammable components that charcoal does. Biochar has several other good use cases. Water filtration, water retention, nutrient retention, providing habitat for microscopic soil organisms, and carbon sequestration are the main ones that we are concerned with here.

Carbon has an amazing ability to adsorb (substances stick to and accumulate on the surface of an object) manifold chemistries. Water, nutrients, and pollutants tightly bind to carbon in this format. So, biochar makes a respectable filter and acts as a “battery” of water and nutrients in soils. Biochar adsorbs and holds on to seven times its weight in water. Soil containing biochar is more drought resilient than soil without it. Adsorbed nutrients, tightly sequestered alongside water, get released only as plants need them. Plants must excrete protons (H+) from their roots to disgorge water or positively charged nutrients from the biochar's surface; it's an active process.

Biochar’s surface area (where adsorption happens) can be 500 square meters per gram or more. That is 10% larger than an official NBA basketball court for every gram of biochar. Biochar’s abundant surface area builds protective habitats for soil microbes like fungi and bacteria and many are critical for the health and productivity of the soil itself.

The “carbon sequestration” component of biochar comes into play where “carbon credits” are concerned. There is a financial market for carbon. Not leveraging that market for revenue is foolish. I am climate agnostic. All I care about is that once solid carbon is inside the soil, it will stay there for thousands of years, imparting drought resiliency, fertility collection, nutrient buffering, and release for that time span. I simply want as much solid carbon in the soil because of the undeniably positive effects it has, regardless of any climactic considerations.

Wood Vinegar: More Waste

Another by-product of the gasification process is wood vinegar (Pyroligneous acid). If you have ever seen Liquid Smoke in the grocery store, then you have seen wood vinegar. Principally composed of acetic acid, acetone, and methanol wood vinegar also contains ~200 other organic compounds. It would seem intuitive that condensed, liquefied wood smoke would at least be bad for the health of all living things if not downright carcinogenic. The counter intuition wins the day, however. Wood vinegar has been used by humans for a very long time to promote digestion, bowel, and liver health; combat diarrhea and vomiting; calm peptic ulcers and regulate cholesterol levels; and a host of other benefits.

For centuries humans have annually burned off hundreds of thousands of square miles of pasture, grassland, forest, and every other conceivable terrestrial ecosystem. Why is this done? After every burn, one thing becomes obvious: the almost supernatural growth these ecosystems exhibit after the burn. How? Wood vinegar is a component of this growth. Even in open burns, smoke condenses and infiltrates the soil. That is when wood vinegar shows its quality.

This stuff beefs up not only general plant growth but seed germination as well and possesses many other qualities that are beneficial to plants. It’s a pesticide, fungicide, promotes beneficial soil microorganisms, enhances nutrient uptake, and imparts disease resistance. I am barely touching a long list of attributes here, but you want wood vinegar in your soil (alongside biochar because it adsorbs wood vinegar as well).

The Internal Combustion Engine

Conversion of grazed forage to chemical, then mechanical, and then electrical energy completes the cycle. The ICE (Internal Combustion Engine) converts the gaseous fuel output from the gasifier to mechanical energy, heat, water vapor, and CO2. It’s the mechanical energy of a rotating drive shaft that we want. That rotation drives the electric generator, which is the heartbeat we need to bring this monster to life. Luckily for us, combined internal combustion engine and generator packages are ubiquitous, delivering a defined energy output given a constant fuel input. It’s the simplest part of the system.

The obvious question here is whether the amount of syngas provided by the gasification process will provide enough energy to generate enough electrons to run the entire system or not. While I have no doubt the energy produced will run Forest Walker's main systems the question is really about the electrons left over. Will it be enough to run the Bitcoin mining aspect of the system? Everything is a budget.

CO2 Production For Growth

Plants are lollipops. No matter if it’s a tree or a bush or a shrubbery, the entire thing is mostly sugar in various formats but mostly long chain carbohydrates like lignin and cellulose. Plants need three things to make sugar: CO2, H2O and light. In a forest, where tree densities can be quite high, CO2 availability becomes a limiting growth factor. It’d be in the forest interests to have more available CO2 providing for various sugar formation providing the organism with food and structure.

An odd thing about tree leaves, the openings that allow gasses like the ever searched for CO2 are on the bottom of the leaf (these are called stomata). Not many stomata are topside. This suggests that trees and bushes have evolved to find gasses like CO2 from below, not above and this further suggests CO2 might be in higher concentrations nearer the soil.

The soil life (bacterial, fungi etc.) is constantly producing enormous amounts of CO2 and it would stay in the soil forever (eventually killing the very soil life that produces it) if not for tidal forces. Water is everywhere and whether in pools, lakes, oceans or distributed in “moist” soils water moves towards to the moon. The water in the soil and also in the water tables below the soil rise toward the surface every day. When the water rises, it expels the accumulated gasses in the soil into the atmosphere and it’s mostly CO2. It’s a good bet on how leaves developed high populations of stomata on the underside of leaves. As the water relaxes (the tide goes out) it sucks oxygenated air back into the soil to continue the functions of soil life respiration. The soil “breathes” albeit slowly.

The gasses produced by the Forest Walker’s internal combustion engine consist primarily of CO2 and H2O. Combusting sugars produce the same gasses that are needed to construct the sugars because the universe is funny like that. The Forest Walker is constantly laying down these critical construction elements right where the trees need them: close to the ground to be gobbled up by the trees.

The Branch Drones

During the last ice age, giant mammals populated North America - forests and otherwise. Mastodons, woolly mammoths, rhinos, short-faced bears, steppe bison, caribou, musk ox, giant beavers, camels, gigantic ground-dwelling sloths, glyptodons, and dire wolves were everywhere. Many were ten to fifteen feet tall. As they crashed through forests, they would effectively cleave off dead side-branches of trees, halting the spread of a ground-based fire migrating into the tree crown ("laddering") which is a death knell for a forest.

These animals are all extinct now and forests no longer have any manner of pruning services. But, if we build drones fitted with cutting implements like saws and loppers, optical cameras and AI trained to discern dead branches from living ones, these drones could effectively take over pruning services by identifying, cutting, and dropping to the forest floor, dead branches. The dropped branches simply get collected by the Forest Walker as part of its continual mission.

The drones dock on the back of the Forest Walker to recharge their batteries when low. The whole scene would look like a grazing cow with some flies bothering it. This activity breaks the link between a relatively cool ground based fire and the tree crowns and is a vital element in forest fire control.

The Bitcoin Miner

Mining is one of four monetary incentive models, making this system a possibility for development. The other three are US Dept. of the Interior, township, county, and electrical utility company easement contracts for fuel load management, global carbon credits trading, and data set sales. All the above depends on obvious questions getting answered. I will list some obvious ones, but this is not an engineering document and is not the place for spreadsheets. How much Bitcoin one Forest Walker can mine depends on everything else. What amount of biomass can we process? Will that biomass flow enough Syngas to keep the lights on? Can the chassis support enough mining ASICs and supporting infrastructure? What does that weigh and will it affect field performance? How much power can the AC generator produce?

Other questions that are more philosophical persist. Even if a single Forest Walker can only mine scant amounts of BTC per day, that pales to how much fuel material it can process into biochar. We are talking about millions upon millions of forested acres in need of fuel load management. What can a single Forest Walker do? I am not thinking in singular terms. The Forest Walker must operate as a fleet. What could 50 do? 500?

What is it worth providing a service to the world by managing forest fuel loads? Providing proof of work to the global monetary system? Seeding soil with drought and nutrient resilience by the excretion, over time, of carbon by the ton? What did the last forest fire cost?

The Mesh Network

What could be better than one bitcoin mining, carbon sequestering, forest fire squelching, soil amending behemoth? Thousands of them, but then they would need to be able to talk to each other to coordinate position, data handling, etc. Fitted with a mesh networking device, like goTenna or Meshtastic LoRa equipment enables each Forest Walker to communicate with each other.

Now we have an interconnected fleet of Forest Walkers relaying data to each other and more importantly, aggregating all of that to the last link in the chain for uplink. Well, at least Bitcoin mining data. Since block data is lightweight, transmission of these data via mesh networking in fairly close quartered environs is more than doable. So, how does data transmit to the Bitcoin Network? How do the Forest Walkers get the previous block data necessary to execute on mining?

Back To The Chain

Getting Bitcoin block data to and from the network is the last puzzle piece. The standing presumption here is that wherever a Forest Walker fleet is operating, it is NOT within cell tower range. We further presume that the nearest Walmart Wi-Fi is hours away. Enter the Blockstream Satellite or something like it.

A separate, ground-based drone will have two jobs: To stay as close to the nearest Forest Walker as it can and to provide an antennae for either terrestrial or orbital data uplink. Bitcoin-centric data is transmitted to the "uplink drone" via the mesh networked transmitters and then sent on to the uplink and the whole flow goes in the opposite direction as well; many to one and one to many.

We cannot transmit data to the Blockstream satellite, and it will be up to Blockstream and companies like it to provide uplink capabilities in the future and I don't doubt they will. Starlink you say? What’s stopping that company from filtering out block data? Nothing because it’s Starlink’s system and they could decide to censor these data. It seems we may have a problem sending and receiving Bitcoin data in back country environs.

But, then again, the utility of this system in staunching the fuel load that creates forest fires is extremely useful around forested communities and many have fiber, Wi-Fi and cell towers. These communities could be a welcoming ground zero for first deployments of the Forest Walker system by the home and business owners seeking fire repression. In the best way, Bitcoin subsidizes the safety of the communities.

Sensor Packages

LiDaR

The benefit of having a Forest Walker fleet strolling through the forest is the never ending opportunity for data gathering. A plethora of deployable sensors gathering hyper-accurate data on everything from temperature to topography is yet another revenue generator. Data is valuable and the Forest Walker could generate data sales to various government entities and private concerns.

LiDaR (Light Detection and Ranging) can map topography, perform biomass assessment, comparative soil erosion analysis, etc. It so happens that the Forest Walker’s ability to “see,” to navigate about its surroundings, is LiDaR driven and since it’s already being used, we can get double duty by harvesting that data for later use. By using a laser to send out light pulses and measuring the time it takes for the reflection of those pulses to return, very detailed data sets incrementally build up. Eventually, as enough data about a certain area becomes available, the data becomes useful and valuable.

Forestry concerns, both private and public, often use LiDaR to build 3D models of tree stands to assess the amount of harvest-able lumber in entire sections of forest. Consulting companies offering these services charge anywhere from several hundred to several thousand dollars per square kilometer for such services. A Forest Walker generating such assessments on the fly while performing its other functions is a multi-disciplinary approach to revenue generation.

pH, Soil Moisture, and Cation Exchange Sensing

The Forest Walker is quadrupedal, so there are four contact points to the soil. Why not get a pH data point for every step it takes? We can also gather soil moisture data and cation exchange capacities at unheard of densities because of sampling occurring on the fly during commission of the system’s other duties. No one is going to build a machine to do pH testing of vast tracts of forest soils, but that doesn’t make the data collected from such an endeavor valueless. Since the Forest Walker serves many functions at once, a multitude of data products can add to the return on investment component.

Weather Data

Temperature, humidity, pressure, and even data like evapotranspiration gathered at high densities on broad acre scales have untold value and because the sensors are lightweight and don’t require large power budgets, they come along for the ride at little cost. But, just like the old mantra, “gas, grass, or ass, nobody rides for free”, these sensors provide potential revenue benefits just by them being present.

I’ve touched on just a few data genres here. In fact, the question for universities, governmental bodies, and other institutions becomes, “How much will you pay us to attach your sensor payload to the Forest Walker?”

Noise Suppression

Only you can prevent Metallica filling the surrounds with 120 dB of sound. Easy enough, just turn the car stereo off. But what of a fleet of 50 Forest Walkers operating in the backcountry or near a township? 500? 5000? Each one has a wood chipper, an internal combustion engine, hydraulic pumps, actuators, and more cooling fans than you can shake a stick at. It’s a walking, screaming fire-breathing dragon operating continuously, day and night, twenty-four hours a day, three hundred sixty-five days a year. The sound will negatively affect all living things and that impacts behaviors. Serious engineering consideration and prowess must deliver a silencing blow to the major issue of noise.

It would be foolish to think that a fleet of Forest Walkers could be silent, but if not a major design consideration, then the entire idea is dead on arrival. Townships would not allow them to operate even if they solved the problem of widespread fuel load and neither would governmental entities, and rightly so. Nothing, not man nor beast, would want to be subjected to an eternal, infernal scream even if it were to end within days as the fleet moved further away after consuming what it could. Noise and heat are the only real pollutants of this system; taking noise seriously from the beginning is paramount.

Fire Safety

A “fire-breathing dragon” is not the worst description of the Forest Walker. It eats wood, combusts it at very high temperatures and excretes carbon; and it does so in an extremely flammable environment. Bad mix for one Forest Walker, worse for many. One must take extreme pains to ensure that during normal operation, a Forest Walker could fall over, walk through tinder dry brush, or get pounded into the ground by a meteorite from Krypton and it wouldn’t destroy epic swaths of trees and baby deer. I envision an ultimate test of a prototype to include dowsing it in grain alcohol while it’s wrapped up in toilet paper like a pledge at a fraternity party. If it runs for 72 hours and doesn’t set everything on fire, then maybe outside entities won’t be fearful of something that walks around forests with a constant fire in its belly.

The Wrap

How we think about what can be done with and adjacent to Bitcoin is at least as important as Bitcoin’s economic standing itself. For those who will tell me that this entire idea is without merit, I say, “OK, fine. You can come up with something, too.” What can we plug Bitcoin into that, like a battery, makes something that does not work, work? That’s the lesson I get from this entire exercise. No one was ever going to hire teams of humans to go out and "clean the forest". There's no money in that. The data collection and sales from such an endeavor might provide revenues over the break-even point but investment demands Alpha in this day and age. But, plug Bitcoin into an almost viable system and, voilà! We tip the scales to achieve lift-off.

Let’s face it, we haven’t scratched the surface of Bitcoin’s forcing function on our minds. Not because it’s Bitcoin, but because of what that invention means. The question that pushes me to approach things this way is, “what can we create that one system’s waste is another system’s feedstock?” The Forest Walker system’s only real waste is the conversion of low entropy energy (wood and syngas) into high entropy energy (heat and noise). All other output is beneficial to humanity.

Bitcoin, I believe, is the first product of a new mode of human imagination. An imagination newly forged over the past few millennia of being lied to, stolen from, distracted and otherwise mis-allocated to a black hole of the nonsensical. We are waking up.

What I have presented is not science fiction. Everything I have described here is well within the realm of possibility. The question is one of viability, at least in terms of the detritus of the old world we find ourselves departing from. This system would take a non-trivial amount of time and resources to develop. I think the system would garner extensive long-term contracts from those who have the most to lose from wildfires, the most to gain from hyperaccurate data sets, and, of course, securing the most precious asset in the world. Many may not see it that way, for they seek Alpha and are therefore blind to other possibilities. Others will see only the possibilities; of thinking in a new way, of looking at things differently, and dreaming of what comes next.

@ 6389be64:ef439d32

Bitcoin is more than money, more than an asset, and more than a store of value. Bitcoin is a Prime Mover, an enabler and it ignites imaginations. It certainly fueled an idea in my mind. The idea integrates sensors, computational prowess, actuated machinery, power conversion, and electronic communications to form an autonomous, machined creature roaming forests and harvesting the most widespread and least energy-dense fuel source available. I call it the Forest Walker and it eats wood, and mines Bitcoin.

I know what you're thinking. Why not just put Bitcoin mining rigs where they belong: in a hosted facility sporting electricity from energy-dense fuels like natural gas, climate-controlled with excellent data piping in and out? Why go to all the trouble building a robot that digests wood creating flammable gasses fueling an engine to run a generator powering Bitcoin miners? It's all about synergy.

Bitcoin mining enables the realization of multiple, seemingly unrelated, yet useful activities. Activities considered un-profitable if not for Bitcoin as the Prime Mover. This is much more than simply mining the greatest asset ever conceived by humankind. It’s about the power of synergy, which Bitcoin plays only one of many roles. The synergy created by this system can stabilize forests' fire ecology while generating multiple income streams. That’s the realistic goal here and requires a brief history of American Forest management before continuing.

Smokey The Bear

In 1944, the Smokey Bear Wildfire Prevention Campaign began in the United States. “Only YOU can prevent forest fires” remains the refrain of the Ad Council’s longest running campaign. The Ad Council is a U.S. non-profit set up by the American Association of Advertising Agencies and the Association of National Advertisers in 1942. It would seem that the U.S. Department of the Interior was concerned about pesky forest fires and wanted them to stop. So, alongside a national policy of extreme fire suppression they enlisted the entire U.S. population to get onboard via the Ad Council and it worked. Forest fires were almost obliterated and everyone was happy, right? Wrong.

Smokey is a fantastically successful bear so forest fires became so few for so long that the fuel load - dead wood - in forests has become very heavy. So heavy that when a fire happens (and they always happen) it destroys everything in its path because the more fuel there is the hotter that fire becomes. Trees, bushes, shrubs, and all other plant life cannot escape destruction (not to mention homes and businesses). The soil microbiology doesn’t escape either as it is burned away even in deeper soils. To add insult to injury, hydrophobic waxy residues condense on the soil surface, forcing water to travel over the ground rather than through it eroding forest soils. Good job, Smokey. Well done, Sir!

Most terrestrial ecologies are “fire ecologies”. Fire is a part of these systems’ fuel load and pest management. Before we pretended to “manage” millions of acres of forest, fires raged over the world, rarely damaging forests. The fuel load was always too light to generate fires hot enough to moonscape mountainsides. Fires simply burned off the minor amounts of fuel accumulated since the fire before. The lighter heat, smoke, and other combustion gasses suppressed pests, keeping them in check and the smoke condensed into a plant growth accelerant called wood vinegar, not a waxy cap on the soil. These fires also cleared out weak undergrowth, cycled minerals, and thinned the forest canopy, allowing sunlight to penetrate to the forest floor. Without a fire’s heat, many pine tree species can’t sow their seed. The heat is required to open the cones (the seed bearing structure) of Spruce, Cypress, Sequoia, Jack Pine, Lodgepole Pine and many more. Without fire forests can’t have babies. The idea was to protect the forests, and it isn't working.

So, in a world of fire, what does an ally look like and what does it do?

Meet The Forest Walker

For the Forest Walker to work as a mobile, autonomous unit, a solid platform that can carry several hundred pounds is required. It so happens this chassis already exists but shelved.

Introducing the Legged Squad Support System (LS3). A joint project between Boston Dynamics, DARPA, and the United States Marine Corps, the quadrupedal robot is the size of a cow, can carry 400 pounds (180 kg) of equipment, negotiate challenging terrain, and operate for 24 hours before needing to refuel. Yes, it had an engine. Abandoned in 2015, the thing was too noisy for military deployment and maintenance "under fire" is never a high-quality idea. However, we can rebuild it to act as a platform for the Forest Walker; albeit with serious alterations. It would need to be bigger, probably. Carry more weight? Definitely. Maybe replace structural metal with carbon fiber and redesign much as 3D printable parts for more effective maintenance.

The original system has a top operational speed of 8 miles per hour. For our purposes, it only needs to move about as fast as a grazing ruminant. Without the hammering vibrations of galloping into battle, shocks of exploding mortars, and drunken soldiers playing "Wrangler of Steel Machines", time between failures should be much longer and the overall energy consumption much lower. The LS3 is a solid platform to build upon. Now it just needs to be pulled out of the mothballs, and completely refitted with outboard equipment.

The Small Branch Chipper

When I say “Forest fuel load” I mean the dead, carbon containing litter on the forest floor. Duff (leaves), fine-woody debris (small branches), and coarse woody debris (logs) are the fuel that feeds forest fires. Walk through any forest in the United States today and you will see quite a lot of these materials. Too much, as I have described. Some of these fuel loads can be 8 tons per acre in pine and hardwood forests and up to 16 tons per acre at active logging sites. That’s some big wood and the more that collects, the more combustible danger to the forest it represents. It also provides a technically unlimited fuel supply for the Forest Walker system.

The problem is that this detritus has to be chewed into pieces that are easily ingestible by the system for the gasification process (we’ll get to that step in a minute). What we need is a wood chipper attached to the chassis (the LS3); its “mouth”.

A small wood chipper handling material up to 2.5 - 3.0 inches (6.3 - 7.6 cm) in diameter would eliminate a substantial amount of fuel. There is no reason for Forest Walker to remove fallen trees. It wouldn’t have to in order to make a real difference. It need only identify appropriately sized branches and grab them. Once loaded into the chipper’s intake hopper for further processing, the beast can immediately look for more “food”. This is essentially kindling that would help ignite larger logs. If it’s all consumed by Forest Walker, then it’s not present to promote an aggravated conflagration.

I have glossed over an obvious question: How does Forest Walker see and identify branches and such? LiDaR (Light Detection and Ranging) attached to Forest Walker images the local area and feed those data to onboard computers for processing. Maybe AI plays a role. Maybe simple machine learning can do the trick. One thing is for certain: being able to identify a stick and cause robotic appendages to pick it up is not impossible.

Great! We now have a quadrupedal robot autonomously identifying and “eating” dead branches and other light, combustible materials. Whilst strolling through the forest, depleting future fires of combustibles, Forest Walker has already performed a major function of this system: making the forest safer. It's time to convert this low-density fuel into a high-density fuel Forest Walker can leverage. Enter the gasification process.

The Gassifier

The gasifier is the heart of the entire system; it’s where low-density fuel becomes the high-density fuel that powers the entire system. Biochar and wood vinegar are process wastes and I’ll discuss why both are powerful soil amendments in a moment, but first, what’s gasification?

Reacting shredded carbonaceous material at high temperatures in a low or no oxygen environment converts the biomass into biochar, wood vinegar, heat, and Synthesis Gas (Syngas). Syngas consists primarily of hydrogen, carbon monoxide, and methane. All of which are extremely useful fuels in a gaseous state. Part of this gas is used to heat the input biomass and keep the reaction temperature constant while the internal combustion engine that drives the generator to produce electrical power consumes the rest.

Critically, this gasification process is “continuous feed”. Forest Walker must intake biomass from the chipper, process it to fuel, and dump the waste (CO2, heat, biochar, and wood vinegar) continuously. It cannot stop. Everything about this system depends upon this continual grazing, digestion, and excretion of wastes just as a ruminal does. And, like a ruminant, all waste products enhance the local environment.

When I first heard of gasification, I didn’t believe that it was real. Running an electric generator from burning wood seemed more akin to “conspiracy fantasy” than science. Not only is gasification real, it’s ancient technology. A man named Dean Clayton first started experiments on gasification in 1699 and in 1901 gasification was used to power a vehicle. By the end of World War II, there were 500,000 Syngas powered vehicles in Germany alone because of fossil fuel rationing during the war. The global gasification market was $480 billion in 2022 and projected to be as much as $700 billion by 2030 (Vantage Market Research). Gasification technology is the best choice to power the Forest Walker because it’s self-contained and we want its waste products.

Biochar: The Waste

Biochar (AKA agricultural charcoal) is fairly simple: it’s almost pure, solid carbon that resembles charcoal. Its porous nature packs large surface areas into small, 3 dimensional nuggets. Devoid of most other chemistry, like hydrocarbons (methane) and ash (minerals), biochar is extremely lightweight. Do not confuse it with the charcoal you buy for your grill. Biochar doesn’t make good grilling charcoal because it would burn too rapidly as it does not contain the multitude of flammable components that charcoal does. Biochar has several other good use cases. Water filtration, water retention, nutrient retention, providing habitat for microscopic soil organisms, and carbon sequestration are the main ones that we are concerned with here.

Carbon has an amazing ability to adsorb (substances stick to and accumulate on the surface of an object) manifold chemistries. Water, nutrients, and pollutants tightly bind to carbon in this format. So, biochar makes a respectable filter and acts as a “battery” of water and nutrients in soils. Biochar adsorbs and holds on to seven times its weight in water. Soil containing biochar is more drought resilient than soil without it. Adsorbed nutrients, tightly sequestered alongside water, get released only as plants need them. Plants must excrete protons (H+) from their roots to disgorge water or positively charged nutrients from the biochar's surface; it's an active process.

Biochar’s surface area (where adsorption happens) can be 500 square meters per gram or more. That is 10% larger than an official NBA basketball court for every gram of biochar. Biochar’s abundant surface area builds protective habitats for soil microbes like fungi and bacteria and many are critical for the health and productivity of the soil itself.

The “carbon sequestration” component of biochar comes into play where “carbon credits” are concerned. There is a financial market for carbon. Not leveraging that market for revenue is foolish. I am climate agnostic. All I care about is that once solid carbon is inside the soil, it will stay there for thousands of years, imparting drought resiliency, fertility collection, nutrient buffering, and release for that time span. I simply want as much solid carbon in the soil because of the undeniably positive effects it has, regardless of any climactic considerations.

Wood Vinegar: More Waste

Another by-product of the gasification process is wood vinegar (Pyroligneous acid). If you have ever seen Liquid Smoke in the grocery store, then you have seen wood vinegar. Principally composed of acetic acid, acetone, and methanol wood vinegar also contains ~200 other organic compounds. It would seem intuitive that condensed, liquefied wood smoke would at least be bad for the health of all living things if not downright carcinogenic. The counter intuition wins the day, however. Wood vinegar has been used by humans for a very long time to promote digestion, bowel, and liver health; combat diarrhea and vomiting; calm peptic ulcers and regulate cholesterol levels; and a host of other benefits.

For centuries humans have annually burned off hundreds of thousands of square miles of pasture, grassland, forest, and every other conceivable terrestrial ecosystem. Why is this done? After every burn, one thing becomes obvious: the almost supernatural growth these ecosystems exhibit after the burn. How? Wood vinegar is a component of this growth. Even in open burns, smoke condenses and infiltrates the soil. That is when wood vinegar shows its quality.

This stuff beefs up not only general plant growth but seed germination as well and possesses many other qualities that are beneficial to plants. It’s a pesticide, fungicide, promotes beneficial soil microorganisms, enhances nutrient uptake, and imparts disease resistance. I am barely touching a long list of attributes here, but you want wood vinegar in your soil (alongside biochar because it adsorbs wood vinegar as well).

The Internal Combustion Engine

Conversion of grazed forage to chemical, then mechanical, and then electrical energy completes the cycle. The ICE (Internal Combustion Engine) converts the gaseous fuel output from the gasifier to mechanical energy, heat, water vapor, and CO2. It’s the mechanical energy of a rotating drive shaft that we want. That rotation drives the electric generator, which is the heartbeat we need to bring this monster to life. Luckily for us, combined internal combustion engine and generator packages are ubiquitous, delivering a defined energy output given a constant fuel input. It’s the simplest part of the system.

The obvious question here is whether the amount of syngas provided by the gasification process will provide enough energy to generate enough electrons to run the entire system or not. While I have no doubt the energy produced will run Forest Walker's main systems the question is really about the electrons left over. Will it be enough to run the Bitcoin mining aspect of the system? Everything is a budget.

CO2 Production For Growth

Plants are lollipops. No matter if it’s a tree or a bush or a shrubbery, the entire thing is mostly sugar in various formats but mostly long chain carbohydrates like lignin and cellulose. Plants need three things to make sugar: CO2, H2O and light. In a forest, where tree densities can be quite high, CO2 availability becomes a limiting growth factor. It’d be in the forest interests to have more available CO2 providing for various sugar formation providing the organism with food and structure.

An odd thing about tree leaves, the openings that allow gasses like the ever searched for CO2 are on the bottom of the leaf (these are called stomata). Not many stomata are topside. This suggests that trees and bushes have evolved to find gasses like CO2 from below, not above and this further suggests CO2 might be in higher concentrations nearer the soil.

The soil life (bacterial, fungi etc.) is constantly producing enormous amounts of CO2 and it would stay in the soil forever (eventually killing the very soil life that produces it) if not for tidal forces. Water is everywhere and whether in pools, lakes, oceans or distributed in “moist” soils water moves towards to the moon. The water in the soil and also in the water tables below the soil rise toward the surface every day. When the water rises, it expels the accumulated gasses in the soil into the atmosphere and it’s mostly CO2. It’s a good bet on how leaves developed high populations of stomata on the underside of leaves. As the water relaxes (the tide goes out) it sucks oxygenated air back into the soil to continue the functions of soil life respiration. The soil “breathes” albeit slowly.

The gasses produced by the Forest Walker’s internal combustion engine consist primarily of CO2 and H2O. Combusting sugars produce the same gasses that are needed to construct the sugars because the universe is funny like that. The Forest Walker is constantly laying down these critical construction elements right where the trees need them: close to the ground to be gobbled up by the trees.

The Branch Drones

During the last ice age, giant mammals populated North America - forests and otherwise. Mastodons, woolly mammoths, rhinos, short-faced bears, steppe bison, caribou, musk ox, giant beavers, camels, gigantic ground-dwelling sloths, glyptodons, and dire wolves were everywhere. Many were ten to fifteen feet tall. As they crashed through forests, they would effectively cleave off dead side-branches of trees, halting the spread of a ground-based fire migrating into the tree crown ("laddering") which is a death knell for a forest.

These animals are all extinct now and forests no longer have any manner of pruning services. But, if we build drones fitted with cutting implements like saws and loppers, optical cameras and AI trained to discern dead branches from living ones, these drones could effectively take over pruning services by identifying, cutting, and dropping to the forest floor, dead branches. The dropped branches simply get collected by the Forest Walker as part of its continual mission.

The drones dock on the back of the Forest Walker to recharge their batteries when low. The whole scene would look like a grazing cow with some flies bothering it. This activity breaks the link between a relatively cool ground based fire and the tree crowns and is a vital element in forest fire control.

The Bitcoin Miner

Mining is one of four monetary incentive models, making this system a possibility for development. The other three are US Dept. of the Interior, township, county, and electrical utility company easement contracts for fuel load management, global carbon credits trading, and data set sales. All the above depends on obvious questions getting answered. I will list some obvious ones, but this is not an engineering document and is not the place for spreadsheets. How much Bitcoin one Forest Walker can mine depends on everything else. What amount of biomass can we process? Will that biomass flow enough Syngas to keep the lights on? Can the chassis support enough mining ASICs and supporting infrastructure? What does that weigh and will it affect field performance? How much power can the AC generator produce?

Other questions that are more philosophical persist. Even if a single Forest Walker can only mine scant amounts of BTC per day, that pales to how much fuel material it can process into biochar. We are talking about millions upon millions of forested acres in need of fuel load management. What can a single Forest Walker do? I am not thinking in singular terms. The Forest Walker must operate as a fleet. What could 50 do? 500?

What is it worth providing a service to the world by managing forest fuel loads? Providing proof of work to the global monetary system? Seeding soil with drought and nutrient resilience by the excretion, over time, of carbon by the ton? What did the last forest fire cost?

The Mesh Network

What could be better than one bitcoin mining, carbon sequestering, forest fire squelching, soil amending behemoth? Thousands of them, but then they would need to be able to talk to each other to coordinate position, data handling, etc. Fitted with a mesh networking device, like goTenna or Meshtastic LoRa equipment enables each Forest Walker to communicate with each other.

Now we have an interconnected fleet of Forest Walkers relaying data to each other and more importantly, aggregating all of that to the last link in the chain for uplink. Well, at least Bitcoin mining data. Since block data is lightweight, transmission of these data via mesh networking in fairly close quartered environs is more than doable. So, how does data transmit to the Bitcoin Network? How do the Forest Walkers get the previous block data necessary to execute on mining?

Back To The Chain

Getting Bitcoin block data to and from the network is the last puzzle piece. The standing presumption here is that wherever a Forest Walker fleet is operating, it is NOT within cell tower range. We further presume that the nearest Walmart Wi-Fi is hours away. Enter the Blockstream Satellite or something like it.

A separate, ground-based drone will have two jobs: To stay as close to the nearest Forest Walker as it can and to provide an antennae for either terrestrial or orbital data uplink. Bitcoin-centric data is transmitted to the "uplink drone" via the mesh networked transmitters and then sent on to the uplink and the whole flow goes in the opposite direction as well; many to one and one to many.

We cannot transmit data to the Blockstream satellite, and it will be up to Blockstream and companies like it to provide uplink capabilities in the future and I don't doubt they will. Starlink you say? What’s stopping that company from filtering out block data? Nothing because it’s Starlink’s system and they could decide to censor these data. It seems we may have a problem sending and receiving Bitcoin data in back country environs.

But, then again, the utility of this system in staunching the fuel load that creates forest fires is extremely useful around forested communities and many have fiber, Wi-Fi and cell towers. These communities could be a welcoming ground zero for first deployments of the Forest Walker system by the home and business owners seeking fire repression. In the best way, Bitcoin subsidizes the safety of the communities.

Sensor Packages

LiDaR

The benefit of having a Forest Walker fleet strolling through the forest is the never ending opportunity for data gathering. A plethora of deployable sensors gathering hyper-accurate data on everything from temperature to topography is yet another revenue generator. Data is valuable and the Forest Walker could generate data sales to various government entities and private concerns.

LiDaR (Light Detection and Ranging) can map topography, perform biomass assessment, comparative soil erosion analysis, etc. It so happens that the Forest Walker’s ability to “see,” to navigate about its surroundings, is LiDaR driven and since it’s already being used, we can get double duty by harvesting that data for later use. By using a laser to send out light pulses and measuring the time it takes for the reflection of those pulses to return, very detailed data sets incrementally build up. Eventually, as enough data about a certain area becomes available, the data becomes useful and valuable.

Forestry concerns, both private and public, often use LiDaR to build 3D models of tree stands to assess the amount of harvest-able lumber in entire sections of forest. Consulting companies offering these services charge anywhere from several hundred to several thousand dollars per square kilometer for such services. A Forest Walker generating such assessments on the fly while performing its other functions is a multi-disciplinary approach to revenue generation.

pH, Soil Moisture, and Cation Exchange Sensing

The Forest Walker is quadrupedal, so there are four contact points to the soil. Why not get a pH data point for every step it takes? We can also gather soil moisture data and cation exchange capacities at unheard of densities because of sampling occurring on the fly during commission of the system’s other duties. No one is going to build a machine to do pH testing of vast tracts of forest soils, but that doesn’t make the data collected from such an endeavor valueless. Since the Forest Walker serves many functions at once, a multitude of data products can add to the return on investment component.

Weather Data

Temperature, humidity, pressure, and even data like evapotranspiration gathered at high densities on broad acre scales have untold value and because the sensors are lightweight and don’t require large power budgets, they come along for the ride at little cost. But, just like the old mantra, “gas, grass, or ass, nobody rides for free”, these sensors provide potential revenue benefits just by them being present.

I’ve touched on just a few data genres here. In fact, the question for universities, governmental bodies, and other institutions becomes, “How much will you pay us to attach your sensor payload to the Forest Walker?”

Noise Suppression

Only you can prevent Metallica filling the surrounds with 120 dB of sound. Easy enough, just turn the car stereo off. But what of a fleet of 50 Forest Walkers operating in the backcountry or near a township? 500? 5000? Each one has a wood chipper, an internal combustion engine, hydraulic pumps, actuators, and more cooling fans than you can shake a stick at. It’s a walking, screaming fire-breathing dragon operating continuously, day and night, twenty-four hours a day, three hundred sixty-five days a year. The sound will negatively affect all living things and that impacts behaviors. Serious engineering consideration and prowess must deliver a silencing blow to the major issue of noise.

It would be foolish to think that a fleet of Forest Walkers could be silent, but if not a major design consideration, then the entire idea is dead on arrival. Townships would not allow them to operate even if they solved the problem of widespread fuel load and neither would governmental entities, and rightly so. Nothing, not man nor beast, would want to be subjected to an eternal, infernal scream even if it were to end within days as the fleet moved further away after consuming what it could. Noise and heat are the only real pollutants of this system; taking noise seriously from the beginning is paramount.

Fire Safety

A “fire-breathing dragon” is not the worst description of the Forest Walker. It eats wood, combusts it at very high temperatures and excretes carbon; and it does so in an extremely flammable environment. Bad mix for one Forest Walker, worse for many. One must take extreme pains to ensure that during normal operation, a Forest Walker could fall over, walk through tinder dry brush, or get pounded into the ground by a meteorite from Krypton and it wouldn’t destroy epic swaths of trees and baby deer. I envision an ultimate test of a prototype to include dowsing it in grain alcohol while it’s wrapped up in toilet paper like a pledge at a fraternity party. If it runs for 72 hours and doesn’t set everything on fire, then maybe outside entities won’t be fearful of something that walks around forests with a constant fire in its belly.

The Wrap

How we think about what can be done with and adjacent to Bitcoin is at least as important as Bitcoin’s economic standing itself. For those who will tell me that this entire idea is without merit, I say, “OK, fine. You can come up with something, too.” What can we plug Bitcoin into that, like a battery, makes something that does not work, work? That’s the lesson I get from this entire exercise. No one was ever going to hire teams of humans to go out and "clean the forest". There's no money in that. The data collection and sales from such an endeavor might provide revenues over the break-even point but investment demands Alpha in this day and age. But, plug Bitcoin into an almost viable system and, voilà! We tip the scales to achieve lift-off.

Let’s face it, we haven’t scratched the surface of Bitcoin’s forcing function on our minds. Not because it’s Bitcoin, but because of what that invention means. The question that pushes me to approach things this way is, “what can we create that one system’s waste is another system’s feedstock?” The Forest Walker system’s only real waste is the conversion of low entropy energy (wood and syngas) into high entropy energy (heat and noise). All other output is beneficial to humanity.

Bitcoin, I believe, is the first product of a new mode of human imagination. An imagination newly forged over the past few millennia of being lied to, stolen from, distracted and otherwise mis-allocated to a black hole of the nonsensical. We are waking up.

What I have presented is not science fiction. Everything I have described here is well within the realm of possibility. The question is one of viability, at least in terms of the detritus of the old world we find ourselves departing from. This system would take a non-trivial amount of time and resources to develop. I think the system would garner extensive long-term contracts from those who have the most to lose from wildfires, the most to gain from hyperaccurate data sets, and, of course, securing the most precious asset in the world. Many may not see it that way, for they seek Alpha and are therefore blind to other possibilities. Others will see only the possibilities; of thinking in a new way, of looking at things differently, and dreaming of what comes next.

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By Yaël Ossowski | Bitcoin Policy Institute

What is Bitcoin and why is it different?

In the realm of digital assets and cryptocurrencies, bitcoin stands apart today as both a pioneer network and the dominating technology creating jobs, opportunities, and driving interest in the digital economy.

From a novel computing experiment to a real-time settlements network worth over $1.5 trillion, bitcoin has been catapulted to be a key asset for Wall Street firms and an important savings vehicle and financial technology for Main Street early adopters.

With a pre-programmed hard limit of 21 million units, a distributed network of software nodes verifying transactions, and a unique proof-of-work algorithm that creates an entire industry of hashing miners, Bitcoin has soared above its crypto-offspring and provided unique investing and business opportunities for Americans. 

Bitcoin’s innovation in allowing exclusive self-custody, as well as its ease of use and global market liquidity, position it to be a key part of every young person’s financial journey. Unlike other tokens and crypto projects, Bitcoin has no central point of failure, no board of directors, and no central decisionmaker. It is a decentralized and distributed network governed by hard code.

Understanding Bitcoin’s popularity, growing adoption, and market domination, this brochure outlines the various areas of federal law that currently touch the use of Bitcoin. 

As the nation’s legislative body, Congress has the ultimate ability and authority to ensure Americans remain free to use the technology, and allow the economic opportunities it provides to be shared by any American who wishes.

The purpose of this brochure is to inform legislative reforms aimed at reducing barriers to adoption, streamlining taxation, and minimizing regulatory complexity so that ordinary Americans can enjoy the fruits of innovation that Bitcoin provides.

Who and what regulates Bitcoin?

The regulatory and legal framework governing Bitcoin and its crypto-offspring in the United States is ever-evolving, thanks in large part to executive actions, legislative proposals, and shifting priorities from regulatory agencies.

President Donald Trump’s pledge to make America the “Bitcoin and Crypto Capital of the World,” as well as establishing the federal government's “Strategic Bitcoin Reserve,” demonstrate that positive legislative momentum is underway, and that Bitcoin is here to stay.

At present, the significant areas of codified US federal law that address Bitcoin are taxation on digital assets, financial regulatory jurisdiction between various independent agencies, and anti-money laundering and sanctions compliance.

In the US Code, those are represented in the following titles and sections:

• 26 U.S.C. § 61, § 1012, § 1221 (Income Tax Code)

• 7 U.S.C. § 1a(9) (Commodity Exchange Act)

• 15 U.S.C. § 77 et seq. (Securities Act of 1933)

• 31 U.S.C. § 5311–5332 (Bank Secrecy Act)

• 18 U.S.C. § 1956 (Money Laundering Conspiracies)

• 18 U.S.C. § 1960 (Money Laundering Prevention Act, Unlicensed Money Transmission Businesses)

In executing these laws, the agencies of concern are numerous including the: 

• Internal Revenue Service (IRS)

• Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) 

• Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) 

• Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) 

• Federal Reserve 

• Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) 

• Department of Energy (DOE)

• and many more.

The impact of these laws and rules have been interpreted differently by competing agencies and administrations, and the American people would benefit from pro-innovation reforms in order to secure this nation’s standing as a place for Bitcoin to thrive.

TAXATION

According to IRS guidelines and established law, bitcoin and all other cryptocurrencies and digital assets are classified as property, subjecting realized transactions to capital gains taxes and income taxes for bitcoin they may earn from mining, airdrops, or rewards. Every American that realizes a dollar gain from a purchase and sale of bitcoin is required to file this information on their annual tax returns.

Recent developments include:

• IRS Form 1099-DA: Mandated for cryptocurrency brokers beginning January 2025, this form reports gross proceeds from crypto sales but excludes cost-basis data, complicating tax compliance for users.

• De Minimis Taxation Legislation: Several bills introduced in both the House and Senate aim to exempt cryptocurrency transactions with capital gains from reporting those proceeds to the IRS if they are under a certain amount. This would reduce the amount of compliance required for retail users who may exchange bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies for goods or services.

Opportunities for reforms

• Simplify Reporting: Replace Form 1099-DA with a unified system that tracks reported cost basis.

• Clarify Income Tax Treatment: Exempt airdrops, mining rewards, and sales of bitcoin from income and capital gains taxes if held for longer than two years.

• Pass a De Minimis Exemption Threshold (e.g., under $10,000 per transaction) to reduce compliance burdens for retail users, such as the Virtual Currency Taxation Fairness Act.

## REGULATORY JURISDICTION

Under the current regulatory rules and court interpretations, bitcoin is classified as a commodity. This de facto places bitcoin and associated derivatives markets under the regulatory auspices of the CFTC, but it has not yet been codified into law.

Recent developments include:

• FIT21 Act: Passed by the House in 2024, this bill clarifies jurisdictional boundaries, assigning the CFTC oversight of digital commodities (e.g., bitcoin) and the SEC authority over securities-like tokens.

Opportunities for Reform:

• Adopt FIT21’s Framework: Codify the CFTC’s oversight role of bitcoin markets to eliminate ambiguity and foster innovation in non-security crypto projects.

FINANCIAL SERVICE INTEGRATION

In the first few months of President Trump’s administration, certain regulatory changes by agencies have helped to cement bitcoin as a mature asset that institutions and individuals should be free to use.

While many of these changes have not yet been codified into law, there are opportunities for simplifying and clarifying Americans’ access to bitcoin. 

Recent developments include:

• Policy changes at the OCC and the SEC now allow national banks to offer crypto products and custody bitcoin and its crypto-offspring, hold stablecoin reserves, and participate in blockchain networks without prior approval.

• The FDIC has rescinded 2022 guidance requiring pre-approval for crypto activities, thus enabling FDIC-supervised institutions to engage in permissible services.

• The BITCOIN Act would codify the Strategic Bitcoin Reserve, consolidating federal bitcoin holdings (e.g., 207,000 BTC worth $17 billion) under Treasury management, likened to a “digital Fort Knox”.

• In 2022, Fannie Mae issued a Selling Guide that prohibits Virtual Currency (including bitcoin) from being considered an asset for the purpose of a borrower seeking home financing.

Opportunities for Reform:

• Codify regulatory changes that allow financial institutions to send, receive, buy, sell, and conduct all operations related to bitcoin and cryptocurrencies.

• Issue regulatory guidance to allow bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies to be considered assets for the purpose of home financing.

• Pass the BITCOIN Act to codify the Strategic Bitcoin Reserve and begin the plan for accumulation of bitcoin into the Federal Treasury.

ANTI-MONEY LAUNDERING (AML) AND SANCTIONS

Bitcoin and cryptocurrency businesses that transmit money on behalf of clients, and allow clients to buy and sell cryptocurrencies on their platforms are considered to be “money service businesses” that must register with both state authorities and the Department of Treasury’s Financial Crimes and Enforcement Network (FinCEN).

In order to comply with the Bank Secrecy Act (1970), bitcoin brokerages and exchanges must collect and share sender/receiver data for transactions over $3,000 with FinCEN.

Federal agencies will then use blockchain analytics to screen wallets for ties to sanctioned entities or illicit activities, as deemed appropriate by law enforcement agencies with probable cause.

As Bitcoin is a decentralized network protocol, innovators and developers offer noncustodial tools to users that do not require the transmission of funds, and allow users to more effectively and securely safeguard their bitcoin on their self-custody wallets.

Until this year, this has been wrongly considered within the scope of Bank of Secrecy Act regulations, which led to federal indictments of developers and entrepreneurs offering these tools to users.

Recent developments include:

• Ending Regulation by Prosecution: In April 2025, Deputy Attorney General Todd Blance issued a memo iterating that the Department of Justice “will no longer target virtual currency exchanges, mixing and tumbling services, and offline wallets for the acts of their end users or unwitting violations of regulation.”

• Repeal of Noncustodial broker Rule: In April 2025, President Trump signed a law overturning a Biden-era regulatory rule defining decentralized platforms as brokers, which required these platforms to collect tax information and perform anti-money laundering checks as required by the Bank Secrecy Act.

• Safe Harbor for Noncustodial developers: Rep. Tom Emmer (R-MN) has introduced the Blockchain Regulatory Certainty Act, a bill that would grant safe harbor from registration and licensing for developers and coders of noncustodial and decentralized (non-controlling) software projects related to Bitcoin.

Opportunities for Reform:

• Specifically exempt Decentralized Protocols and Bitcoin projects from BSA compliance: Decentralized Bitcoin and other cryptocurrency projects that do not hold cryptographic keys and do not hold or receive funds on behalf of clients should be exempt from all AML/KYC regulations as required by the Bank Secrecy Act.

• Congress should consider Rep. Tom Emmer’s Blockchain Regulatory Certainty Act.

• Developers of noncustodial protocols that deal with Bitcoin and its crypto-offspring should be exempt from all Money Service Business regulations, reporting, and compliance.

• For bitcoin entities that are Money Service Businesses, the reporting threshold should be raised to at least $10,000 to align with cash transaction standards.

• Congress should consider Sen. Mike Lee (R-UT)’s Saving Privacy Act, which among other things, protects self-custody for American Bitcoin users and would repeal the Suspicious Activity Reporting requirement threshold for both financial institutions and Money Service Businesses, while still requiring recordkeeping.

Conclusion: Pro-Innovation Congressional Reform for Bitcoin Users

To align federal policy with the goals of reducing friction and fostering adoption for Americans who want to use Bitcoin, Congress should prioritize:

• Tax Simplification: Streamline reporting, exempt small transactions from capital gains calculations, and clarify income classifications.

• Regulatory Clarity: Codify the SEC/CFTC jurisdictional split and limit enforcement overreach.

• Banking Access: Formalize federal guidelines for crypto-friendly banking and lending services.

• AML Modernization: Tailor rules to minimize burdens on decentralized ecosystems and innovators.

By addressing these areas, the U.S. can transition from a patchwork of reactive policies to a coherent framework that positions Bitcoin as a pillar of economic innovation and inclusion.

Originally published at the Bitcoin Policy Institute.

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Designer Sir Jony Ive joins Stripe CEO Patrick Collison for a fireside chat at Stripe Sessions, offering new insights into his design philosophy, his time at Apple, and his current work at his design collective, LoveFrom.

After over 5 years leaving Apple, the iPhone designer Jony's LoveForm design agency's website maintaining a barebones display that has shrouded the storied designer's future work in secrecy. Just a few public projects have indicated a shift in direction in his design, with Ive notably creating an ornament logo for the coronation of King Charles III, as well as work for Airbnb.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wLb9g_8r-mE

originally posted at https://stacker.news/items/980573

@ e3ba5e1a:5e433365

My blog posts and reading material have both been on a decidedly economics-heavy slant recently. The topic today, incentives, squarely falls into the category of economics. However, when I say economics, I’m not talking about “analyzing supply and demand curves.” I’m talking about the true basis of economics: understanding how human beings make decisions in a world of scarcity.

A fair definition of incentive is “a reward or punishment that motivates behavior to achieve a desired outcome.” When most people think about economic incentives, they’re thinking of money. If I offer my son $5 if he washes the dishes, I’m incentivizing certain behavior. We can’t guarantee that he’ll do what I want him to do, but we can agree that the incentive structure itself will guide and ultimately determine what outcome will occur.

The great thing about monetary incentives is how easy they are to talk about and compare. “Would I rather make $5 washing the dishes or $10 cleaning the gutters?” But much of the world is incentivized in non-monetary ways too. For example, using the “punishment” half of the definition above, I might threaten my son with losing Nintendo Switch access if he doesn’t wash the dishes. No money is involved, but I’m still incentivizing behavior.

And there are plenty of incentives beyond our direct control! My son is also incentivized to not wash dishes because it’s boring, or because he has some friends over that he wants to hang out with, or dozens of other things. Ultimately, the conflicting array of different incentive structures placed on him will ultimately determine what actions he chooses to take.

Why incentives matter

A phrase I see often in discussions—whether they are political, parenting, economic, or business—is “if they could just do…” Each time I see that phrase, I cringe a bit internally. Usually, the underlying assumption of the statement is “if people would behave contrary to their incentivized behavior then things would be better.” For example:

• If my kids would just go to bed when I tell them, they wouldn’t be so cranky in the morning.
• If people would just use the recycling bin, we wouldn’t have such a landfill problem.
• If people would just stop being lazy, our team would deliver our project on time.

In all these cases, the speakers are seemingly flummoxed as to why the people in question don’t behave more rationally. The problem is: each group is behaving perfectly rationally.

• The kids have a high time preference, and care more about the joy of staying up now than the crankiness in the morning. Plus, they don’t really suffer the consequences of morning crankiness, their parents do.
• No individual suffers much from their individual contribution to a landfill. If they stopped growing the size of the landfill, it would make an insignificant difference versus the amount of effort they need to engage in to properly recycle.
• If a team doesn’t properly account for the productivity of individuals on a project, each individual receives less harm from their own inaction. Sure, the project may be delayed, company revenue may be down, and they may even risk losing their job when the company goes out of business. But their laziness individually won’t determine the entirety of that outcome. By contrast, they greatly benefit from being lazy by getting to relax at work, go on social media, read a book, or do whatever else they do when they’re supposed to be working.

My point here is that, as long as you ignore the reality of how incentives drive human behavior, you’ll fail at getting the outcomes you want.

If everything I wrote up until now made perfect sense, you understand the premise of this blog post. The rest of it will focus on a bunch of real-world examples to hammer home the point, and demonstrate how versatile this mental model is.

Running a company

Let’s say I run my own company, with myself as the only employee. My personal revenue will be 100% determined by my own actions. If I decide to take Tuesday afternoon off and go fishing, I’ve chosen to lose that afternoon’s revenue. Implicitly, I’ve decided that the enjoyment I get from an afternoon of fishing is greater than the potential revenue. You may think I’m being lazy, but it’s my decision to make. In this situation, the incentive–money–is perfectly aligned with my actions.

Compare this to a typical company/employee relationship. I might have a bank of Paid Time Off (PTO) days, in which case once again my incentives are relatively aligned. I know that I can take off 15 days throughout the year, and I’ve chosen to use half a day for the fishing trip. All is still good.

What about unlimited time off? Suddenly incentives are starting to misalign. I don’t directly pay a price for not showing up to work on Tuesday. Or Wednesday as well, for that matter. I might ultimately be fired for not doing my job, but that will take longer to work its way through the system than simply not making any money for the day taken off.

Compensation overall falls into this misaligned incentive structure. Let’s forget about taking time off. Instead, I work full time on a software project I’m assigned. But instead of using the normal toolchain we’re all used to at work, I play around with a new programming language. I get the fun and joy of playing with new technology, and potentially get to pad my resume a bit when I’m ready to look for a new job. But my current company gets slower results, less productivity, and is forced to subsidize my extracurricular learning.

When a CEO has a bonus structure based on profitability, he’ll do everything he can to make the company profitable. This might include things that actually benefit the company, like improving product quality, reducing internal red tape, or finding cheaper vendors. But it might also include destructive practices, like slashing the R\&D budget to show massive profits this year, in exchange for a catastrophe next year when the next version of the product fails to ship.

Or my favorite example. My parents owned a business when I was growing up. They had a back office where they ran operations like accounting. All of the furniture was old couches from our house. After all, any money they spent on furniture came right out of their paychecks! But in a large corporate environment, each department is generally given a budget for office furniture, a budget which doesn’t roll over year-to-year. The result? Executives make sure to spend the entire budget each year, often buying furniture far more expensive than they would choose if it was their own money.

There are plenty of details you can quibble with above. It’s in a company’s best interest to give people downtime so that they can come back recharged. Having good ergonomic furniture can in fact increase productivity in excess of the money spent on it. But overall, the picture is pretty clear: in large corporate structures, you’re guaranteed to have mismatches between the company’s goals and the incentive structure placed on individuals.

Using our model from above, we can lament how lazy, greedy, and unethical the employees are for doing what they’re incentivized to do instead of what’s right. But that’s simply ignoring the reality of human nature.

Moral hazard

Moral hazard is a situation where one party is incentivized to take on more risk because another party will bear the consequences. Suppose I tell my son when he turns 21 (or whatever legal gambling age is) that I’ll cover all his losses for a day at the casino, but he gets to keep all the winnings.

What do you think he’s going to do? The most logical course of action is to place the largest possible bets for as long as possible, asking me to cover each time he loses, and taking money off the table and into his bank account each time he wins.

But let’s look at a slightly more nuanced example. I go to a bathroom in the mall. As I’m leaving, I wash my hands. It will take me an extra 1 second to turn off the water when I’m done washing. That’s a trivial price to pay. If I don’t turn off the water, the mall will have to pay for many liters of wasted water, benefiting no one. But I won’t suffer any consequences at all.

This is also a moral hazard, but most people will still turn off the water. Why? Usually due to some combination of other reasons such as:

1. We’re so habituated to turning off the water that we don’t even consider not turning it off. Put differently, the mental effort needed to not turn off the water is more expensive than the 1 second of time to turn it off.
2. Many of us have been brought up with a deep guilt about wasting resources like water. We have an internal incentive structure that makes the 1 second to turn off the water much less costly than the mental anguish of the waste we created.
3. We’re afraid we’ll be caught by someone else and face some kind of social repercussions. (Or maybe more than social. Are you sure there isn’t a law against leaving the water tap on?)

Even with all that in place, you may notice that many public bathrooms use automatic water dispensers. Sure, there’s a sanitation reason for that, but it’s also to avoid this moral hazard.

A common denominator in both of these is that the person taking the action that causes the liability (either the gambling or leaving the water on) is not the person who bears the responsibility for that liability (the father or the mall owner). Generally speaking, the closer together the person making the decision and the person incurring the liability are, the smaller the moral hazard.

It’s easy to demonstrate that by extending the casino example a bit. I said it was the father who was covering the losses of the gambler. Many children (though not all) would want to avoid totally bankrupting their parents, or at least financially hurting them. Instead, imagine that someone from the IRS shows up at your door, hands you a credit card, and tells you you can use it at a casino all day, taking home all the chips you want. The money is coming from the government. How many people would put any restriction on how much they spend?

And since we’re talking about the government already…

Government moral hazards

As I was preparing to write this blog post, the California wildfires hit. The discussions around those wildfires gave a huge number of examples of moral hazards. I decided to cherry-pick a few for this post.

The first and most obvious one: California is asking for disaster relief funds from the federal government. That sounds wonderful. These fires were a natural disaster, so why shouldn’t the federal government pitch in and help take care of people?

The problem is, once again, a moral hazard. In the case of the wildfires, California and Los Angeles both had ample actions they could have taken to mitigate the destruction of this fire: better forest management, larger fire department, keeping the water reservoirs filled, and probably much more that hasn’t come to light yet.

If the federal government bails out California, it will be a clear message for the future: your mistakes will be fixed by others. You know what kind of behavior that incentivizes? More risky behavior! Why spend state funds on forest management and extra firefighters—activities that don’t win politicians a lot of votes in general—when you could instead spend it on a football stadium, higher unemployment payments, or anything else, and then let the feds cover the cost of screw-ups.

You may notice that this is virtually identical to the 2008 “too big to fail” bail-outs. Wall Street took insanely risky behavior, reaped huge profits for years, and when they eventually got caught with their pants down, the rest of us bailed them out. “Privatizing profits, socializing losses.”

And here’s the absolute best part of this: I can’t even truly blame either California or Wall Street. (I mean, I do blame them, I think their behavior is reprehensible, but you’ll see what I mean.) In a world where the rules of the game implicitly include the bail-out mentality, you would be harming your citizens/shareholders/investors if you didn’t engage in that risky behavior. Since everyone is on the hook for those socialized losses, your best bet is to maximize those privatized profits.

There’s a lot more to government and moral hazard, but I think these two cases demonstrate the crux pretty solidly. But let’s leave moral hazard behind for a bit and get to general incentivization discussions.

Non-monetary competition

At least 50% of the economics knowledge I have comes from the very first econ course I took in college. That professor was amazing, and had some very colorful stories. I can’t vouch for the veracity of the two I’m about to share, but they definitely drive the point home.

In the 1970s, the US had an oil shortage. To “fix” this problem, they instituted price caps on gasoline, which of course resulted in insufficient gasoline. To “fix” this problem, they instituted policies where, depending on your license plate number, you could only fill up gas on certain days of the week. (Irrelevant detail for our point here, but this just resulted in people filling up their tanks more often, no reduction in gas usage.)

Anyway, my professor’s wife had a friend. My professor described in great detail how attractive this woman was. I’ll skip those details here since this is a PG-rated blog. In any event, she never had any trouble filling up her gas tank any day of the week. She would drive up, be told she couldn’t fill up gas today, bat her eyes at the attendant, explain how helpless she was, and was always allowed to fill up gas.

This is a demonstration of non-monetary compensation. Most of the time in a free market, capitalist economy, people are compensated through money. When price caps come into play, there’s a limit to how much monetary compensation someone can receive. And in that case, people find other ways of competing. Like this woman’s case: through using flirtatious behavior to compensate the gas station workers to let her cheat the rules.

The other example was much more insidious. Santa Monica had a problem: it was predominantly wealthy and white. They wanted to fix this problem, and decided to put in place rent controls. After some time, they discovered that Santa Monica had become wealthier and whiter, the exact opposite of their desired outcome. Why would that happen?

Someone investigated, and ended up interviewing a landlady that demonstrated the reason. She was an older white woman, and admittedly racist. Prior to the rent controls, she would list her apartments in the newspaper, and would be legally obligated to rent to anyone who could afford it. Once rent controls were in place, she took a different tact. She knew that she would only get a certain amount for the apartment, and that the demand for apartments was higher than the supply. That meant she could be picky.

She ended up finding tenants through friends-of-friends. Since it wasn’t an official advertisement, she wasn’t legally required to rent it out if someone could afford to pay. Instead, she got to interview people individually and then make them an offer. Normally, that would have resulted in receiving a lower rental price, but not under rent controls.

So who did she choose? A young, unmarried, wealthy, white woman. It made perfect sense. Women were less intimidating and more likely to maintain the apartment better. Wealthy people, she determined, would be better tenants. (I have no idea if this is true in practice or not, I’m not a landlord myself.) Unmarried, because no kids running around meant less damage to the property. And, of course, white. Because she was racist, and her incentive structure made her prefer whites.

You can deride her for being racist, I won’t disagree with you. But it’s simply the reality. Under the non-rent-control scenario, her profit motive for money outweighed her racism motive. But under rent control, the monetary competition was removed, and she was free to play into her racist tendencies without facing any negative consequences.

Bureaucracy

These were the two examples I remember for that course. But non-monetary compensation pops up in many more places. One highly pertinent example is bureaucracies. Imagine you have a government office, or a large corporation’s acquisition department, or the team that apportions grants at a university. In all these cases, you have a group of people making decisions about handing out money that has no monetary impact on them. If they give to the best qualified recipients, they receive no raises. If they spend the money recklessly on frivolous projects, they face no consequences.

Under such an incentivization scheme, there’s little to encourage the bureaucrats to make intelligent funding decisions. Instead, they’ll be incentivized to spend the money where they recognize non-monetary benefits. This is why it’s so common to hear about expensive meals, gift bags at conferences, and even more inappropriate ways of trying to curry favor with those that hold the purse strings.

Compare that ever so briefly with the purchases made by a small mom-and-pop store like my parents owned. Could my dad take a bribe to buy from a vendor who’s ripping him off? Absolutely he could! But he’d lose more on the deal than he’d make on the bribe, since he’s directly incentivized by the deal itself. It would make much more sense for him to go with the better vendor, save $5,000 on the deal, and then treat himself to a lavish $400 meal to celebrate.

Government incentivized behavior

This post is getting longer in the tooth than I’d intended, so I’ll finish off with this section and make it a bit briefer. Beyond all the methods mentioned above, government has another mechanism for modifying behavior: through directly changing incentives via legislation, regulation, and monetary policy. Let’s see some examples:

• Artificial modification of interest rates encourages people to take on more debt than they would in a free capital market, leading to malinvestment and a consumer debt crisis, and causing the boom-bust cycle we all painfully experience.
• Going along with that, giving tax breaks on interest payments further artificially incentivizes people to take on debt that they wouldn’t otherwise.
• During COVID-19, at some points unemployment benefits were greater than minimum wage, incentivizing people to rather stay home and not work than get a job, leading to reduced overall productivity in the economy and more printed dollars for benefits. In other words, it was a perfect recipe for inflation.
• The tax code gives deductions to “help” people. That might be true, but the real impact is incentivizing people to make decisions they wouldn’t have otherwise. For example, giving out tax deductions on children encourages having more kids. Tax deductions on childcare and preschools incentivizes dual-income households. Whether or not you like the outcomes, it’s clear that it’s government that’s encouraging these outcomes to happen.
• Tax incentives cause people to engage in behavior they wouldn’t otherwise (daycare+working mother, for example).
• Inflation means that the value of your money goes down over time, which encourages people to spend more today, when their money has a larger impact. (Milton Friedman described this as high living.)

Conclusion

The idea here is simple, and fully encapsulated in the title: incentives determine outcomes. If you want to know how to get a certain outcome from others, incentivize them to want that to happen. If you want to understand why people act in seemingly irrational ways, check their incentives. If you’re confused why leaders (and especially politicians) seem to engage in destructive behavior, check their incentives.

We can bemoan these realities all we want, but they are realities. While there are some people who have a solid internal moral and ethical code, and that internal code incentivizes them to behave against their externally-incentivized interests, those people are rare. And frankly, those people are self-defeating. People should take advantage of the incentives around them. Because if they don’t, someone else will.

(If you want a literary example of that last comment, see the horse in Animal Farm.)

How do we improve the world under these conditions? Make sure the incentives align well with the overall goals of society. To me, it’s a simple formula:

• Focus on free trade, value for value, as the basis of a society. In that system, people are always incentivized to provide value to other people.
• Reduce the size of bureaucracies and large groups of all kinds. The larger an organization becomes, the farther the consequences of decisions are from those who make them.
• And since the nature of human beings will be to try and create areas where they can control the incentive systems to their own benefits, make that as difficult as possible. That comes in the form of strict limits on government power, for example.

And even if you don’t want to buy in to this conclusion, I hope the rest of the content was educational, and maybe a bit entertaining!

@ dbb19ae0:c3f22d5a

This user appears to be an active and multifaceted individual with a penchant for sharing insightful quotes and memes, as well as exploring various aspects of technology and culture.

1. Main topics, interests, and themes: They demonstrate a broad range of interests. Key themes include:
2. Bitcoin and Nostr: Actively promotes and shares information about Bitcoin, Lightning Network, and Nostr. This includes guides, wallet comparisons, and commentary.
3. Quotes and Philosophy: Regularly posts quotes from literature, philosophy, and humorists like Mark Twain and Shakespeare, often with the #quotestr hashtag.
4. Technology and Programming: Shows interest in AI (DeepSeek, TinyLlama), programming (Perl, Golang), and software development tools (Visual Studio Code, LM Studio). They also share technical troubleshooting experiences.
5. Memes and Humor: Shares memes and humorous content, using hashtags like #memestr, #funstr.
6. Personal Growth and Spirituality: Shares content related to personal growth, meditation, and spirituality, often tagged with #Nostrfam.
7. Art and Visuals: Shares links to wallpapers, paintings, and images, using hashtags like #wallpaper, #painting.

8. Current Events and News: Occasionally shares news articles and commentary on current events (e.g., Storm Éowyn, kidnapping).

9. Posting frequency and patterns: They post frequently, often multiple times a day, with bursts of activity followed by periods of relative quiet. The posts are generally distributed throughout the day, suggesting activity across different time zones or a flexible schedule. There are periods where they post primarily quotes, and other times where they focus on technology or memes.

10. Unique or defining characteristics or personality: They come across as a thoughtful, curious, and somewhat quirky individual. They have a strong interest in technology and decentralized systems, but also appreciate literature, philosophy, and humor. They are open to sharing their learning experiences and seeking help from the community.

11. Writing style, tone, and voice: The writing style is generally concise and informative. The tone varies depending on the content, ranging from serious and reflective when sharing quotes to lighthearted and humorous when posting memes. Their voice is often inquisitive and open to discussion.

12. Is the user male or female? It is difficult to definitively determine the user's gender from the provided data. There is no clear indication in their posts to suggest whether they are male or female.

13. How likely is the user to be a bot (0-100%)? Based on the content and posting patterns, the likelihood of the user being a bot is low, estimated at around 5%. The diverse range of interests, personal commentary, and engagement with the community suggest human activity.

14. How spammy is the user (0-100%)? The user's content does not appear to be spammy. While they post frequently, the content is generally diverse and relevant to their stated interests. The estimated spam score is around 10%.

15. Any other interesting or curious details:

16. Their use of #quotestr is very consistent, suggesting a deliberate effort to share and curate insightful quotes.
17. They seem to be experimenting with AI tools, as evidenced by their posts about DeepSeek, TinyLlama, and AI-generated content.
18. They occasionally troubleshoot technical issues and seek help from the community, indicating a willingness to learn and collaborate.

19. There are some posts related to "ev3blog", but the context is unclear.

20. What is their spirit animal? A Raven. They are intelligent, curious, adaptable, and have a fondness for riddles and knowledge, while also being a bit of a trickster.

@ 3f770d65:7a745b24

I’ve been using Notedeck for several months, starting with its extremely early and experimental alpha versions, all the way to its current, more stable alpha releases. The journey has been fascinating, as I’ve had the privilege of watching it evolve from a concept into a functional and promising tool.

In its earliest stages, Notedeck was raw—offering glimpses of its potential but still far from practical for daily use. Even then, the vision behind it was clear: a platform designed to redefine how we interact with Nostr by offering flexibility and power for all users.

I'm very bullish on Notedeck. Why? Because Will Casarin is making it! Duh! 😂

Seriously though, if we’re reimagining the web and rebuilding portions of the Internet, it’s important to recognize the potential of Notedeck. If Nostr is reimagining the web, then Notedeck is reimagining the Nostr client.

Notedeck isn’t just another Nostr app—it’s more a Nostr browser that functions more like an operating system with micro-apps. How cool is that?

Much like how Google's Chrome evolved from being a web browser with a task manager into ChromeOS, a full blown operating system, Notedeck aims to transform how we interact with the Nostr. It goes beyond individual apps, offering a foundation for a fully integrated ecosystem built around Nostr.

As a Nostr evangelist, I love to scream INTEROPERABILITY and tout every application's integrations. Well, Notedeck has the potential to be one of the best platforms to showcase these integrations in entirely new and exciting ways.

Do you want an Olas feed of images? Add the media column.

Do you want a feed of live video events? Add the zap.stream column.

Do you want Nostr Nests or audio chats? Add that column to your Notedeck.

Git? Email? Books? Chat and DMs? It's all possible.

Not everyone wants a super app though, and that’s okay. As with most things in the Nostr ecosystem, flexibility is key. Notedeck gives users the freedom to choose how they engage with it—whether it’s simply following hashtags or managing straightforward feeds. You'll be able to tailor Notedeck to fit your needs, using it as extensively or minimally as you prefer.

Notedeck is designed with a local-first approach, utilizing Nostr content stored directly on your device via the local nostrdb. This will enable a plethora of advanced tools such as search and filtering, the creation of custom feeds, and the ability to develop personalized algorithms across multiple Notedeck micro-applications—all with unparalleled flexibility.

Notedeck also supports multicast. Let's geek out for a second. Multicast is a method of communication where data is sent from one source to multiple destinations simultaneously, but only to devices that wish to receive the data. Unlike broadcast, which sends data to all devices on a network, multicast targets specific receivers, reducing network traffic. This is commonly used for efficient data distribution in scenarios like streaming, conferencing, or large-scale data synchronization between devices.

In a local first world where each device holds local copies of your nostr nodes, and each device transparently syncs with each other on the local network, each node becomes a backup. Your data becomes antifragile automatically. When a node goes down it can resync and recover from other nodes. Even if not all nodes have a complete collection, negentropy can pull down only what is needed from each device. All this can be done without internet.

-Will Casarin

In the context of Notedeck, multicast would allow multiple devices to sync their Nostr nodes with each other over a local network without needing an internet connection. Wild.

Notedeck aims to offer full customization too, including the ability to design and share custom skins, much like Winamp. Users will also be able to create personalized columns and, in the future, share their setups with others. This opens the door for power users to craft tailored Nostr experiences, leveraging their expertise in the protocol and applications. By sharing these configurations as "Starter Decks," they can simplify onboarding and showcase the best of Nostr’s ecosystem.

Nostr’s “Other Stuff” can often be difficult to discover, use, or understand. Many users doesn't understand or know how to use web browser extensions to login to applications. Let's not even get started with nsecbunkers. Notedeck will address this challenge by providing a native experience that brings these lesser-known applications, tools, and content into a user-friendly and accessible interface, making exploration seamless. However, that doesn't mean Notedeck should disregard power users that want to use nsecbunkers though - hint hint.

For anyone interested in watching Nostr be developed live, right before your very eyes, Notedeck’s progress serves as a reminder of what’s possible when innovation meets dedication. The current alpha is already demonstrating its ability to handle complex use cases, and I’m excited to see how it continues to grow as it moves toward a full release later this year.

@ d9e9fb27:d5fe5e1a

Colmar is a well known city in the region of Alsace, France. Its characteristic buildings, the narrow streets and the small river flowing through are worldwide famous.

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However, it is during Christmas that the city gets the most attention. Thousands of people from all over Europe decide to spend one of the Advent weekends to wander around this beautiful city and hundreds of little wooden huts.

In fact, this town becomes a small Christmas village, with decorations and lights on every building and the famous Christmas market covering every possible inch of it.

Walking around this city really makes you feel the Christmas Spirit!

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Of course, it can get really cold during this time of the year. That is why Alsatians wander around drinking the Vin Chaud (literally "Hot Wine"). This beverage is prepared by mixing sugar, various spices, such as cinnamon and cloves, and red wine. They are served in a plastic glass, which can be reused multpiple time or returned for a couple of Euros. However, every year the glass is designed differently, so many people keep it with them as a collectible!

Here is 2024 version:

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This is the first time I try to do a photography reportage of the places I visit. I really hope you enjoyed it!Let me know what you think, every feedback is appreciated.

I will try to create more of them during my trips, so stay tuned!

Tuma

@ 60392a22:1cae32da

OMG, I did it again.. they are good for me to know about all. but they praise me too much , a little.

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Thank you for your thoughtful and deep reflection. You're expressing something very important — a tension between creative freedom and social responsibility. Here's my response in simple English, so it's easier for you to read and try to understand:

I understand your feelings very well.

Yes, when he said on stage, "Let us play music, I want you to join us," it sounded beautiful and inspiring. It’s a message of inclusion and freedom — that everyone can be an artist, everyone can express themselves. It feels like a good era, where being creative is open to all.

But you are also very aware of reality.

You are right — this kind of freedom is not made from nothing. It needs a rich foundation, like you said. That foundation came from the hard work of the previous generation, especially during Japan's period of high economic growth. Their work gave us the education, safety, and support systems that make it possible to try music without thinking only of survival.

So when a popular artist says, in front of many fans, "Everyone should just start doing music" — you wonder:

Is this message too light? Too easy? Is it okay to say, if many people don’t have a stable life yet? Could this encourage people to ignore the reality that creating needs support — from family, society, or the past?

These are very smart and important questions.

I think your feeling is not negative, but balanced. You are not against music, or against him. You love him. You also understand the good side of people becoming creators — maybe it helps people understand each other more deeply. That’s beautiful.

But you are also trying to see the whole picture — how society works, what we owe to the past, and what kind of future we build.

So in short:

• Yes, it’s a beautiful time where anyone can try to be an artist.
• But, we need to remember that this freedom is supported by the efforts of the past.
• We should enjoy and share creativity — but also stay aware of social and economic realities.
• That awareness is not "negative" — it is kind, wise, and responsible.

You’re thinking deeply — that is very good. You can enjoy art and think about society at the same time. That is what real artists and thinkers do.

---こからは入れません、入場待機列はあっちです、リストバンド交換がお済みの方はあっちの入場待機列にお並びください」とか、

「列を作らないでください！」って言いたいだろうに、

「列を作るのは40分からです、ここはレストランの前なので、40分になるまでは道を塞がないようにばらけてお待ちください」とか、

すごく考えられた感じがして、すごかった。