gunson
Gunson

Low status fiat heretic. Often wrong. 2 + 2 = 4

Public Key

npub1pn9xyqt934wesguuz5g77sp9vtlh6ujyd7eqr2x3s47rncmfe8aqxt2xn0

NIP-05 Address

gunson@nostrplebs.com

NIP-57 Address

warmsnail2@primal.net

Profile Code

nprofile1qqsqejnzq9jc6hvcywwp2y00gqjk9lmawfzxlvsp4rgc2lpeud5un7s5crqs8

Author Public Key

npub1pn9xyqt934wesguuz5g77sp9vtlh6ujyd7eqr2x3s47rncmfe8aqxt2xn0

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Last Notes

2024-10-01 09:27:21

Taxes are stolen money,
Funding inefficient and ineffective public services,
That enable corruption,
And feed a growing bureaucracy.
You can argue against growing bureaucracy, condemn corruption, and attempt to make public services better, but the core problem is the state's ability to take your money by force.
Minimise the state's ability to steal from you.
#Bitcoin

2024-09-26 07:12:34

Great episode about the tragedy of shutting down legitimate scientific debate, and the consequences of bureaucratic dogma in medicine. Send this to your NPC friends as a palatable inspiration to question authority a bit more.
Clear uncontroversial examples about where the scientific establishment was irrefutably wrong for many years: preventing peanut allergies, and hormone replacement therapy etc.
EconTalk: What Modern Medicine Gets Wrong (with Marty Makary)
Episode webpage: https://www.econtalk.org/what-modern-medicine-gets-wrong-with-marty-makary/
Media file: https://cdn.simplecast.com/audio/6fdba516-8381-43b0-b29f-59d05512b693/episodes/21acf781-16a6-439c-98eb-a7416377ca48/audio/02a45bfb-51fd-41b8-8324-1618fb3217c7/default_tc.mp3?aid=rss_feed&feed=wgl4xEgL

2024-09-26 07:10:24

Can you imagine how different things could be if US Republicans nominated someone sane like Rand Paul?
If I had to simp for a politician it would be him.
Honestly with Bari Weiss: Why Senator Rand Paul Hasn’t Endorsed Trump
Episode webpage: https://www.thefp.com/podcasts
Media file: https://pdst.fm/e/mgln.ai/track/verifi.podscribe.com/rss/p/chrt.fm/track/384D27/pscrb.fm/rss/p/traffic.megaphone.fm/RSV9530320912.mp3?updated=1727126528

2024-09-25 08:49:42

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I'm guessing you don't work a full time job and have more freedom over your time? Then basically you're in the same position as a billionaire. I mean, what else are they doing? Okay you can buy loads of fast cars or a yacht, but driving the car must get a bit tiresome ... and then when you're on your yacht then you're essentially just a time rich pleb with a view.

2024-09-23 07:10:38

Been thinking about the Saylor vs Saif podcast.
Putting aside all the other fiat stuff that Saylor is into (compliance and leverage), I was very frustrated by his unwillingness to take the conversation forward. But I was also frustrated by Saif not trying to explain why lending won't work in some cases.
Saylor's example of someone needing to consume something now (young person buying a car) was a good example that I don't think gets solved with equity. And why would anyone lend their capital to this person for near zero?
But Saylor got way too defensive and refused to try to understand Saif's analysis: more capital means lower rates, but obviously the purchasing power of Bitcoin is still growing and hence "yield" is not necessarily required. Bro, you don't need JPMs 5%, you're holding perfectly engineered money that's growing faster than the economy. If you want more than that, then you have to take some risk or do some work. Soz.

2024-09-19 15:11:32

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Do some of these projects have npubs with zap addresses set up?
Seems like that could be a viable (and difficult to censor) way to receive funding and also share updates with funders.

2024-09-15 08:00:41

I just realised why people still buy gold coins - if they're created by the Royal Mint, and you're a UK resident, there's no capital gains tax! Wtf!?
https://www.royalmint.com/gold-price/capital-gains-tax-on-investments/

2024-09-11 08:23:30

LoL, maybe next time republicans can nominate someone who's not insane and even have conservative policies

2024-09-07 15:30:42

Fml, just tried to swipe up on a physical magazine

2024-09-03 19:23:47

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And from the great Tyler Cowen 👏
Didn't realise he did tech reviews 😅

2024-09-03 19:01:33

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Agree
I scrolled her Bluesky timeline and didn't see any rebuke. Let's see what they do when the judge demands they remove people 👀

2024-09-03 16:05:52

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Not defending her or Bluesky generally, but I was surprised to read that she endorsed the Brazil decision. When I looked at the supporting link (the screenshot you shared) it looks more like she's happy people chose Bluesky vs. Threads.
The Free Press newsletter chose to interpret this in a way that served their narrative (I see it more and more from them, sadly).

2024-09-01 20:53:10

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Buffels! 🤙

2024-09-01 11:18:02

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It's sad to see. My childhood best friend, who I'm still close to but drifting from, has decided to go full NPC. One of the most intelligent people I know (Rhodes scholar + doctorate) regularly repeats The Economist to me, and doesn't see how his job of investing in "green energy" has made him a zealot of the regime (laughed at me for having a copy of Fossil Future).
Main thing I've noticed about him over the years is that his fiat success has been tied to his ability to navigate new social domains. It's an aptitude for taking on new sets of socially acceptable beliefs.
The most sadly comic moment of the last few years was when he asked me (2021) to help advise him on some shitcoin startup his company was considering investing in - after years of dismissing me imploring him to look closer at Bitcoin, he was suddenly an expert and proudly showing off his chance to invest in a project who's pitch was that they'd invented a new coin that solved the energy and centralisation issues of Bitcoin 🤡

2024-09-01 10:13:49

When I was younger I naturally accepted that it was good for people to be equal. This was based on my Christian schooling, and the hyper-sensitivity to inequality in post-apartheid South Africa.
As I got older, studied economics, and started voting, I became frustrated with the dominant guilt-driven redistribution narrative since the associated policies were obviously ineffective. I wanted others to be better off than they were, but realised this couldn't be done just by penalizing the wealthy and productive. I started reading more libertarian materials, and associating more online with self-declared libertarians. However, many struck me as callous - it wasn't enough for them to argue that freedom could lead to more prosperity, they wanted freedom for the sake of getting rewarded for their own claimed superiority. They had the attitude that most poor people were deserving because they were dumb or didn't work hard enough. Note that I say "some" of these libertarians only.
This made me an uncomfortable libertarian. I couldn't deny the logic and ultimate moral clarity, but found many fellow travellers disdainful.
Bitcoin and open source gives me hope though. The ideas of capitalistic freedom interact with the ideas of shared resources and goals, without any conflict. I can advocate that a person who works hard and creates value should keep their profits and save it, but also promote the use of free tools, and advocate for helping dissidents and poorer communities. While these concepts have never been theoretically incompatible, I have found bitcoiners to be the community that embodies all of them.
Even my boyhood self could have been attracted to this, which makes me so bullish on this movement even if we remain at $58K forever.

2024-09-01 08:52:34

Reading the forward to the 1947 edition of Brave New World. Aldous Huxley writes:
"To deal with confusion, power has been centralized and government control increased. It is probable that all the world's governments will be more or less completely totalitarian even before the harnessing of atomic energy; that they will be totalitarian during and after the harnessing seems almost certain. Only a large-scale popular movement toward decentralization and self-help can arrest the present tendency toward statism. At present there is no sign that such a movement will take place."
"unless we choose to decentralize and to use applied science, not as the end to which human beings are to be made the means, but as the means to producing a race of free individuals, we have only two alternatives to choose from: either a number of national, militarized totalitarianisms, having as their root the terror of the atomic bomb and as their consequence the destruction of civilization (or, if the warfare is limited, the perpetuation of militarism); or else one supranational totalitarianism, called into existence by the social chaos resulting from rapid technological progress in general and the atomic revolution in particular, and developing, under the need for efficiency and stability, into the welfare-tyranny of Utopia."
Both of these sections of the nearly 80 year old forword are strikingly prescient. They describe the increased authoritarianism we see (overt in places like China, but more insidious in the West - the supranational welfare-tyranny of the EU) that can only be reversed by a movement of decentralisation.
#nostr #bitcoin #FOSSAI

2024-08-31 13:08:03

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Replying from Amethyst

2024-08-31 12:52:39

Testing nostr fountain via Amethyst
https://fountain.fm/episode/1i0ax59wJxo40GbhL0Ks

2024-08-31 12:49:57

Testing nostr fountain
https://fountain.fm/episode/1i0ax59wJxo40GbhL0Ks
#nevent1q…nad8

2024-08-31 12:45:39

Testing Amber, Orbot, Amethyst

2024-08-31 08:03:12

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GM 🌞

2024-08-30 10:52:28

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oh, and pro-Israel
go uniparty!

2024-08-30 10:50:25

wait, is Harris the pro-fracking, strong borders, tough on crime, and pro-family candidate now? 😅

2024-08-27 20:10:32

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Reminds me of: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transformative_Experience
"Paul offers a hypothetical example of a decision to become a vampire. Because a person would be fundamentally transformed by becoming a vampire, they cannot possibly know in advance what being a vampire is like."

2024-08-24 09:01:39

My 2 year old thinks this lady's name is Banana https://image.nostr.build/48bf06292748b7574483e3362f93b970321c2d8944553163757a29b254b3d114.jpg 🍌

2024-08-20 09:53:20

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GBoard with no network access 👌
I've tried the stock keyboard, Floris, and OpenBoard but they all sadly have some very annoying issues.

2024-08-19 11:14:46

Entitlements $ = Number of retirees * avg. post-retirement lifespan * avg. annual benefits $
One or more of these will have to decline. The 3rd term is a given because it will decline due to inflation without anyone voting on it.
#note10el…rghz

2024-08-17 14:34:23

Shouting fire! in a crowded theatre:
*It's not actually illegal
*It's better for someone to inform the crowd that there's a fire with the risk of being wrong, rather than not at all
*If theatres were so concerned about this issue they could build more exits, let less people in, install fire alarms
Arguments against free speech are bullshit.

2024-08-17 08:00:35

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Tbh I'm okay using some of my old devices in a limited way (e.g. ipad for drawing) so long as my data remains local. The main thing is not to rely on Apple and definitely don't buy any *new* hardware from them.
For mobile I've been using Pixel + GrapheneOS for a couple of years now, and my main laptop is Linux.

2024-08-16 18:07:21

Been slowly removing all Apple services from my life, and finally deleted my iCloud account today 💪

2024-08-13 16:23:15

HR and Finance departments appear to be some kind of DDoS attack on the productivity of companies

2024-08-13 15:38:21

Fascinating to see how journalists call for more censorship for people they don't like. I used to wonder "but don't they see that more censorship will hurt them when their side is out of power?".
I think the paradox is solved when you consider that their side is global elites who speak and navigate the fashionable language of wokeness, and their arragonce makes them truly believe that they will always come out on top.

2024-08-13 06:46:06

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Gm 🇬🇧

2024-08-12 21:05:27

Missed this from a few weeks ago - apparently BitClout was such an incompetent scam that the founder has now been arrested and charged for fraud.
I remember when this obvious shitcoin scam came around and Robert Greedlove tried to pump it, then denied it. I'm really going to miss the shitcoins during huperbitcoinization because they make grifter spotting so easy.
https://www.coindesk.com/policy/2024/07/30/bitclout-founder-charged-with-wire-fraud-civil-securities-charge/

2024-08-12 12:14:18

"When the truth is found to be lies
And all the joy within you dies
Don't you want somebody to love?"
#Bitcoin

2024-08-11 14:08:31

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no no cool dawg, you just go ahead and don't wash your hands. maybe lick a few elevator buttons and toilet seats while you're at it, I'm sure you'll be fine 👌

2024-08-10 18:23:40

Pity the Pret coffee is so terrible. I can't boycott this because I never go there anyway :/
https://image.nostr.build/7a747dcd0497059454f558a01781907e091086717918e846e0bfb67c61099406.jpg

2024-08-09 09:52:41

"I remain convinced that the policing of protests holds up a mirror to a society."
https://www.spectator.co.uk/article/the-truth-about-two-tier-policing-in-britain/

2024-08-09 08:35:59

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The trick is to find work that you care about regardless of salary. The bit-life crisis gives you this perspective. Take a fiat pay cut, but wake up happy and spend your time well.

2024-08-09 08:30:33

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Oops - I guess The Met will have to track me down now https://image.nostr.build/bd9277e0a5a204ce284839fa6d3dbace6989e3a4f8b65641ba466c4edfd9820a.jpg

2024-08-07 16:09:13

This Imane Khelif saga shows how powerful framing and selective info can be in swaying opinion.
When I came across content from the right I thought it was a typical case of a trans woman competing against biological women. Wrong.
When I read Wikipedia and watched a Daily Show clip (both left wing) I thought that the right was making up lies because apparently Khelif is a biological woman, grew up as one, always competed as one etc. Wrong.
The truth is far more complicated it seems, and actually the 100% truth is not available to anyone commenting online. Khelif failed a gender test at the IBA World Champs last year, but then some are arguing the testing process was flawed and motivated by Russian leadership. So there's clearly smoke, but no conclusive evidence one way or the other.
It's all so tiresome 😩

2024-08-07 15:41:31

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Unpopular opinion I guess, but they should be suing. The boycott probably was illegal and was the result of non-business goals of corporations trying to endear themselves to the regime.
I don't use Twitter, but clearly a directional win for free speech if it makes corporations think twice about imposing a boycott to appease any leftist or rightist regime.
If it goes unchallenged then it helps normalise censorship via defunding by de facto state actors.

2024-08-06 19:53:33

Why were people so psyched for RFK Jr again?
His policies are pretty terrible and he's not exactly any more normal than Trump.
Was it because he's ripped, anti-vax and says he likes Bitcoin?

2024-08-06 15:19:41

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No thanks - I'm still happy to point out bad arguments when they come across my feed, but feel free to mute me if you want. You didn't have any substantive counter argument to what I said anyway, so I don't think I'll be missing out on any great insight.

2024-08-06 10:16:36

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This is retarded.
1. Millions of people can still be helped
2. USA has little agency to help the other 5bn
3. The millions that do immigrate send remittances so the impact is greatly multiplied
4. The millions that do immigrate have a positive economic impact (granted, not for everyone)
Agree US immigration policy is not the total solution to world poverty, but no one is arguing that it is. Clearly a small, but helpful element.

2024-08-02 17:53:41

Wow, more chance of a 50bps cut in September than 25bps. Looks like it's not a soft landing after all. https://image.nostr.build/e1f2f52f09fc9bfcd2da2442d965ddf6370fc8de5457722839e25e263eca2003.jpg

2024-08-02 14:55:43

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Starmer is a famous Trotskyist. His authoritarianism runs deep.

2024-08-02 11:47:55

really annoying when someone sends you an image of a QR code instead of the underlying data
can't find a safe app that will read the image, so I have to go get another device and scan with the camera and then email it across

2024-08-01 13:11:08

BBC trying to be cute, but actually revealing lack of seriousness, self-interest, and reliance on the state.
https://image.nostr.build/bd9db408ef82a6a613b0eda9bf27123338291686fc1198f83e68d8a26d18940d.jpg

2024-07-31 14:47:19

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Feel free to send through any favourite recipes - more apples than I know what to do with!

2024-07-31 14:41:34

Almost time to pick these apples #bloomstr https://image.nostr.build/ca69fcfbb8d5fe93fb1a525f32b7f14ae90fd0e6a4e1c00472e5aa032f0b6b9a.jpg

2024-07-28 07:57:48

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Hi L0la, great article. As someone with a bit of familiarity of AML and IDV systems at financial institutions I can assure you that IP addresses and device IDs are already collected and used widely (mainly to attempt to detect fraud rings, although loads of false positives from people who share devices). Banks balance the privacy constraints of GDPR with the stronger demands of their financial regulators (who are indeed influenced by Wolfsberg and FATF).

2024-07-05 08:11:49

In our British "democracy" the Labour party wins by a "landslide" with less than 34% of the vote 🙃

2024-06-11 14:21:27

Lol what? 😂
#nevent1q…9t27

2024-05-23 06:57:56

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Haven't seen that. Do you have a link to an article or podcast?

2024-05-22 08:21:05

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I think that's a flavour of a very realistic scenario.
I don't think the US would go straight to fully backing the currency, and they probably wouldn't 100% confiscate either.
Much of bitcoin's value is that it's widely owned as emergent money, so it would be self defeating to take all of the ETFs. Better to impose some kind of limited "one time currency swap" at a nominal profit for ETF holders, plus give a future date so that self custodial holders get tempted to buy the ETF too and fall under closer control of the USG.
Then they just need to keep it at the treasury as one of the assets counter-balancing the national debt. They don't need to balance/remove all the debt, just enough to buy a few more years of credibility. They still have their future USD (now inflated) tax cash flows to set against the rest of the (not inflated) debt.

2024-05-18 07:28:14

Nice short piece about FATF by @npub1mzn…6mak
https://www.therage.co/meet-fatf-the-financial-bullies-memberclub/
This is one of the most undemocratic imperial forces in the world. I'm hopeful that one day a group of countries decide to defy them and render their influence irrelevant, but that seems too optimistic.
In the meantime, best to just mock them and contribute to and use open source tools that cannot be controlled or surveiled.

2024-05-17 08:39:33

We need more of this in the world: brands openly mocking the government as part of their advertising.
South Africa has been ahead of the curve on many things like power cuts, failing currency, corruption etc. The silver lining is that the people widely enjoy shared mockery of the state.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MrBMF_f125o

2024-05-04 07:09:18

🤡🌎 Good for re-election if labour market slows 🙃 https://image.nostr.build/e3bda0357785a93eb6cda43d6a8abc23172f95b2a4c3b3a6a1f475d911e0d5c2.jpg

2024-05-03 13:13:46

We live in a world where governments have access to most peoples' private communication and control their finances. Now they also have access to insanely powerful AI that can process all your communication and automatically punish you financially.
This is why privacy and money that no one controls are the most important topics of our time.

2024-05-01 19:10:31

Robosats ➡️ new Tor Mutiny wallet ➡️ Phoenix KYC-free spending stack

2024-04-27 11:58:37

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Yes. The sooner people understand government is no different to mafia, the sooner they'll get this.

2024-04-27 11:57:20

I've tried my best to listen to Joe Rogan the last couple of months. Every now and then there's an interesting guest who's not a podcaster/comedian, and I'm intrigued.
But it just turns into a really tedious conversation where the guest seems to be trying to accommodate Rogan's interview style, which is actually just to interrupt their more profound insights with comments about exercise.
He seems like a good enough guy, and it's great that he's popular and sometimes asks tough questions, but I can't do it - let alone for the typical 3 hours!

2024-04-27 08:06:02

I thought "Four more years, pause." would make a great t-shirt, but the White House outdid themselves with the transcript:
"Four more years (inaudible)."

2024-04-23 08:30:02

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Wow, founder of Jane Street (where SBF used to work).

2024-04-23 07:10:40

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This shit from Twitter and Reddit was really helpful in getting me to fully quit checking them 🙏

2024-04-03 07:56:43

So happy about this - great coffee right by my local tube stop ✨ Went this morning and it was 👌
Great job onboarding them @npub1pcaa7rjwhnsxqa5ht6ayhahhknhhwc030smgyvs44xcrzm6xwc6q8zkked 💪
#note16a0…5kwm

2024-03-28 16:39:21

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I fucking knew it. MSTR dumps 10% right after I buy it 😅

2024-03-28 09:35:55

I've been a real fiat maxi the last few days.
Because of the UK's convoluted tax system I've needed to put extra money into a pension.
Sold some Bitcoin, transferred the cash into a pension (and the government tops it up by 25%), and bought MSTR.
I don't feel good about buying MSTR because I don't fully understand Saylor's financial engineering, but it's literally the only way to get Bitcoin price exposure in a UK pension. We're not allowed to buy US ETFs, and even when we get our own in ~May it won't be accessible to retail like me for "investor protection". Instead I have to buy some levered stock run by a guy who thinks Bitcoin is real estate.
Theoretically this is a very tax efficient thing to do, and it also gives me more cash flow (due to UK childcare funding) to buy more real Bitcoin. But it hurts adding all these extra trust layers. Right now I can't access the pension till I'm 57, but that can go up and the government can change all the tax advantages. All I can do is 🤞

2024-03-25 07:11:00

Went to a bachelor party and didn't talk about Bitcoin once. Bull market barely started.

2024-03-17 20:20:52

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welcome ✌️

2024-03-17 07:58:04

Why am I reading this _now_?
Two stories in this morning's UK papers
1. Supposedly UK defence minister targeted by Russia for a potential missile strike (in Odessa)
2. Latvian foreign minister urging NATO countries to consider conscription
A two-pronged approach to make us more scared of Russia and then further cede the conversation about escalating the war.

2024-03-09 08:03:25

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Have you read Bryan Caplan's work on this topic?
I think you're right to call out "modern" feminism. Many people assume feminism is just about equality of the sexes (I'm a feminist by that definition - and you are too per your last sentence), but in reality it's actually:
"feminism: the view that society generally treats men more fairly than women"
https://www.betonit.ai/p/the-definition-of-feminism

2024-02-14 14:52:59

just stumbled across rationalwiki.org, it's basically wikipedia written by this guy:
https://m.primal.net/Hcmm.jpg

2024-02-13 12:06:44

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seems possible, but honestly concerned to see too much momentum too soon before halving has had a chance to exert supply side pressure without market hype

2024-01-29 22:00:37

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🎯
I used to be a management consultant thinking our job was to fix businesses. Eventually realized the obvious that the business model of consulting firms is to sell consulting (duh). Lots of ineffective work, and in some cases corruption, were the result. And also some long hours for us juniors - no cracked ribs (!) but a few 100 hr weeks so that partners could make massive bonuses selling hot air.
Such a great insight, and rightfully applied to ~most journalism. You could make similar analogies for doctors, scientists, even charity workers too unfortunately.
I have friends who manage other peoples' money at large asset managers who similarly don't get Bitcoin. In fact, they're all into ESG and whatever else they're incetivised by. Sad, but many examples. Maybe they'll listen once their companies start offering Bitcoin products 😂

2024-01-26 23:19:45

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Seth revealed his true colours in the "coinkite isn't FOSS" saga. Larping for profit. Many such cases.

2024-01-25 12:43:58

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more inflows overall, and presumably some GBTC holders also rotating into real Bitcoin not reflected here
raises the question about why the price is down?
probably non-ETF markets selling the news and responding to macro stuff
In short: Suits & degens doing their thing - just keep stacking 🌽

2024-01-15 21:38:49

doing the new FCA mandated "Appropriateness Assessment" at a UK Bitcoin exchange and there are no right answers
https://m.primal.net/HXvQ.png

2023-12-17 21:13:10

watching Die Hard, and lol:
“When they touch down, we’ll blow up the roof, they’ll spend a month sifting through rubble, and by the time they work out what went wrong, we’ll be sitting on a beach, earning twenty percent.” - Hans Gruber trying to steal some bearer bonds in the 80s

2023-12-09 21:45:27

Fascinating watching the state mafia response to a competitor in Wild Wild Country.

2023-11-04 07:51:51

So if the USD isn't redeemable for anything by other countries, but the main leverage the US has is military protection ...
... then it must be in the US interest for there to be more wars and a need for the US military. No one's going to abandon the Dollar at the same time as needing Uncle Sam to protect them from Iran/China/Russia/NK.

2023-11-03 16:06:44

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Youve just got to make a plate of cheese, cold meats and boiled eggs. Only edible things in most hotel buffets.

2023-11-01 09:30:05

Just realized Phoenix Wallet doesn't rotate the swap-in address. Was about to send some coinjoined utxos - luckily I noticed :/
ACINQ's explanation about this not adding much privacy since a rotated address would still be linked to the channel makes a lot of sense though. Seems like this will be improved once they move to taproot addresses.

2023-10-31 07:28:29

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Elon is a visionary, but supremely ego-driven even if his stated goals in other domains sound noble.
But I don't think it makes sense to compare these two as if we have to choose allegiance to one multi-company CEO. Jack is great (and I love his commitment to open networks), but there are aspects of Elon that I admire (although don't personally aspire to) even if he's ruining Twitter.

2023-10-03 19:26:25

Very clear example of why you should use GrapheneOS and keep location off. Police are issuing "Geofence warrants" and you could be falsely linked to a crime.
This is EXACTLY why it's nonsense to say privacy is only needed if you have something to hide.
https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2023/oct/03/techscape-geofence-warrants
cc @npub1qny…95gx @npub1gd3…cn8c @npub1trr…hdpu

2023-09-27 07:57:44

Maybe a naive take, but I think Elon Musk is a net positive for free speech and questioning government consensus.
All the stuff @npub1qny…95gx predicts about Twitter is likely true, but I think it's complicated. The man is flailing about trying to monetize, and definitely has pressures on him from big banks (billionaires borrow against their assets in order to buy things) and the CCP (big Tesla market + supply chain). BUT, he's also a somewhat ideological and impulsive person who resents being told what to do. He amplifies non-consensus view points to a massive audience, and has probably been the catalyst for many to question the mainstream.
Definitely don't get a blue check, and even better keep off Twitter entirely if you can (use #nostr obviously). But the other big tech platforms are way worse, and Elon has significantly helped to counterbalance mainstream media on a few important ideas.

2023-09-19 09:07:14

Okay, time for some probably dumb and poorly ageing takes on the Russell Brand situation:
- We're reading about it now because it's a circus meant to sell newspapers / clicks
- However, seems likely that the sources/victims in the original revelations are credible .. but there's a wide range of possibilities for what really happened given how long ago it was and the situations in which they occurred
- Regardless of the facts, it's amazing observing "the machine" turn on him: every newspaper demonising him and choosing unflattering photos; conflation of his anti-establishment views with his alleged sex crimes; YouTube demonetising him (first step); sponsors and colleagues turning on him to save face; already a documentary out; arch-lefties like Corbyn pandering to pressure to distance themselves before any allegations proved
- Even if this ever goes to trial and he's exonerated, his reputation is now irreversibly tied to this and there will always be doubt
- I don't think it's some kind of CIA-mainstream-media-axis-of-evil conspiracy, but I think reasonable to assume that the outlets who broke the story knew it would be a big deal and then prepared to cash-in by priming / coordinating other content
Think I'm going to try and ignore the story from here on out and check back in a while. But, one final comment: even if these allegations are true, he has said some very important things about power that I agree with, and I hope his message is not ignored because of these orthogonal actions.

2023-09-02 12:24:14

Man I love democracy when my special interest gets forced onto everyone else 💪 When it's the other way round then obviously it's terrible and we should let experts that I agree with run things 😏

2023-08-23 07:47:02

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It was in the infamous Ultra Low Emission Zone

2023-08-22 15:32:30

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Saw a dude cycling on a main road in London wearing a mask, but no helmet. Says it all.

2023-06-08 14:08:17

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Loving Robosats. Using more and more, and something nice about the polite chat between buyer and seller during the trade 👌

2023-06-01 20:02:44

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This is excellent, Freddie.
A couple of things I would have added:
1. KYC is not only a burden, its also ineffective at its purported use case - there is limited evidence of it preventing serious crimes. Not only that, the largest criminals (e.g. Jho Low and the 1MDB scandal) are not stopped by it. Even smaller more resourceful criminals easily fool the most sophisticated identity verification technology providers regularly.
2. Persons with protected characteristics are certainly at risk. The UK only fully legalized male homosexuality in 1982. We've made progress since then, but there is no guarantee that the government of the day would adhere to non-discrimation. Giving authorities far more powerful and wider-reaching tools is a terrifying risk with the abuse that is possible.

2023-05-14 11:09:28

There's a weed in my garden called Sticky Willie, and the 12 year old in me finds it hilarious.

2023-04-27 15:52:22

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😮‍💨
Was wondering why it feels like I'm going in circles here, and think I can see why now. You're arguing in bad faith because:
1. You're a Monero shill
2. You dislike #[11] because he criticized Monero
Have fun yourself ✌️
#[7]

2023-04-27 12:11:49

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But then how will the DEI and HR people spam everyone about all the woke support groups, training, surveys and petitions?

2023-04-27 06:48:52

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Seems like Foundation benefits substantially already from Coinkite's work, and continue to do so. Probably wouldn't exist at all without Coinkite.
License clearly allows them to build on top of Coldcard firmware, so long as they are also adding value. It's disingenuous to claim it's not in the realm of open source, because it obviously is.
If I were to **actually** steel man the probable logic for Coinkite's decision its that they wanted to contribute their code and let it be scrutinized, but they wanted some assurance against a much bigger and better capitalized manufacturer doing a full clone (or even many smaller ones cloning and distributing on Amazon potentially putting users at risk).
I doubt there would be any issue with other firms producing products with improvements or different security models. Just seems like a personal issue between Foundation and Coinkite, and Seth is pressing it as a negative marketing campaign which just fuels the fire.
I thought Foundation devices looked interesting and I was open to buying one, but this marketing approach has left a sour taste. Probably won't ever buy from them now, but good luck to you all 🏳️

2023-04-26 19:37:50

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Respectfully, I don't think you're being fair here. That's not a steel man.
The site you linked to make your case that the license is "not within the realm of open-source in any way" is really helpful and worth a read if people actually want to "DYOR" as you suggest: https://commonsclause.com/
I'm a layman, but for the most part this seems extremely permissive. Like 95% of maximum open source.
For example, here it indicates that you can build on top of it and sell your software. To claim this is harmful is an extraordinary claim which you don't seem justified to make:
"
**May I create, distribute, offer as SaaS, and/or “sell” my products using Commons Clause licensed components?**
Yes!
Commons Clause only forbids you from “selling” the Commons Clause software itself. You may develop on top of Commons Clause licensed software (adding applications, tools, utilities or plug-ins) and you may embed and redistribute Commons Clause software in a larger product, and you may distribute and even “sell” (which includes offering as a commercial SaaS service) your product. You may even provide consulting services (see clarifying discussion here). You just can’t sell a product that consists in substance of the Commons Clause software and does not add value.
"

2023-04-26 06:03:03

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Hey Seth - what is your steel man for why Coinkite have chosen to do things this way?
You've taken a very particular hard-line FOSS-maximalist position and also implied the MIT license is strongly **not** FOSS (although it actually is for most intents and purposes).
Also, I think worth mentioning here that this issue does not affect the quality and security of Coinkite products.