JC Brand

https://opkode.com

Open source dev. Author and maintainer of Converse XMPP client. Interested in using tech to liberate.

Public Key

npub1purzvv7zzxqymk9q53qmjvlvlrwhy4dsyjt77nxjym9m77e62wtsnlnndd

NIP-05 Address

jc@opkode.com

NIP-57 Address

anominouscowherd@getalby.com

Profile Code

nprofile1qqsq7p3xx0pprqzdmzs2gsdex0k03htj2kczf9l0fnfzdjal0va989c4qwwlg

Author Public Key

npub1purzvv7zzxqymk9q53qmjvlvlrwhy4dsyjt77nxjym9m77e62wtsnlnndd

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Last Notes

2024-06-09 16:50:21

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How do you know that the women in the mall are Chinese? Are their features different enough, or do you hear them speaking Chinese?

2024-06-05 14:38:53

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Yes, Bisq
https://bisq.network/

2023-09-22 08:49:53

Hey, I know some of these words
#nevent1q…r2fq

2023-09-15 16:13:34

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The "record profits" meme is dumb.
When the value of money declines, you need continuous "record" profits to maintain the same level of profitability.

2023-09-13 07:20:23

Kraken has supported lightning more than a year already.
#nevent1q…srx3

2023-09-13 07:17:47

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Lol, old habits and all ..

2023-09-13 07:16:54

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Out of pride, I refuse to boost a tweet that promises a payout.

2023-09-12 14:20:14

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Would you mind sharing the meme here?
I'm curious what gets blocked there. I closed my FB account back in 2012.

2023-09-11 20:16:42

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Yep I got it thanks! 🍾

2023-09-11 08:15:26

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I'm guessing he wasn't around when she was raised. Should perhaps look in the mirror.

2023-09-10 17:47:55

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Good game Matt, but time to pay up 🌽😄🇿🇦

2023-09-09 06:31:12

I really like this song. Gets me in the mood to party.
Reminds me of 90s pop-techno/europop.
The 90s aesthetic is coming back in fashion.
https://open.spotify.com/track/18aIxk1Rfxx0X5p0Mx0bK3?si=uy7HlKUkRcSa9cwhDKimXw

2023-09-08 21:17:48

Congrats to the French for beating the All Blacks in the opening match. Definitely contenders for the title.
#rugby

2023-09-08 10:26:51

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The correct answer is "yes please"

2023-09-08 10:26:09

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Someone should probably tell him. Not me though, I don't have a Twitter account anymore.

2023-09-08 10:22:05

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Ok, let's check back in after the game 🏉

2023-09-08 06:24:10

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Wanna bet some sats on it? 🌽😎
20000 sats on the boks 🇿🇦

2023-09-08 05:52:26

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Go boks! 🇿🇦

2023-09-05 21:32:57

Some suffering in life is guaranteed. It cannot be avoided, and it does in fact provide the opportunity to build fortitude, equinimity, will and character.
Recognizing that doesn't make you some kind of bigot, it makes you a grownup.
#nevent1q…na07

2023-09-05 21:16:35

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It really depends on the name. An obscure protocol name isn't that valuable.

2023-09-05 21:15:33

I don't think the domain name for an open protocol is worth that much.
Is html.com worth 5 mil? I'd guess not.
In any case, HTML is way more well known and used as a protocol.
The whole point of an open protocol is that it's difficult to monetize because that requires locking it down and milking it.
#nevent1q…pvyl

2023-09-05 18:22:27

I have a half baked idea in my head, but I think there's something to it.
Writing code and working as a programmer for almost 20 years, has rewired my brain.
I have certain habits of mind that can irritate and annoy my wife.
I can't help but point out logical inconsistencies if I find them in something I see or hear.
I tend to consider multiple possible scenarios and outcomes, or all the different iterations of something.
I can get bogged down in the details of a story.
I like puns and wordgames and seeing words used in novel ways.
These are all traits that programming selects for, and strengthens.
I guess everyone's brain gets rewired by what they do. It's just kinda strange to realize the extent of it sometimes when I reflect on my behavior.

2023-09-05 18:12:49

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I've never had this specific use-case. The closest thing I can think of is to turn off sync for that folder. Then you can delete files locally without having them deleted server-side ("in the cloud" ugh).
But this is per folder, so the whole folder then no longer syncs until you turn it back on. And if you turn it back on, I don't know what's considered the source of truth, but logically I think it should be the Nextcloud server, so your local folder should then be repopulated with files you deleted locally.
Not sure if that's OK for you, but it's the best I can think of.

2023-09-05 14:21:52

https://image.nostr.build/bffc4a4f64302060bc0d2494363492e883eb8e67bcb5dd0f13c84018cb8b7faf.jpg

2023-09-04 17:43:12

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Awesome looking cards!

2023-09-04 17:25:47

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I'm mainly interested in Bitcoin and believe it's the most important project in the space, but I'm not a maxi of the type that says everything else is a scam. Even with the PoS coins I'm keeping an open mind. Lots of experimentation going on.

2023-09-04 17:23:16

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Another one...
https://cdn.nostr.build/i/454a6f1d92b35b6f8bbd447417b15b1b3764f3db5d10d26d31bb7b94eaee406b.jpg

2023-09-04 16:38:18

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You're welcome 😁
BTW you can paste either a tweet or a profile link.

2023-09-04 16:25:23

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https://cdn.nostr.build/i/c0537c418fc4816b3eb8266d97c77bbb5d86193f72b3182b1594a97f278ba4f4.jpg

2023-09-04 16:22:13

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I've closed my account and now use Nitter when I want to read a tweet or a thread.
There are multiple instances.
For example:
https://nitter.nicfab.eu/
It's a sucky and laborious user experience, but that's kinda the point.

2023-09-04 16:16:14

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Nice story thanks. It was probably better that you didn't know, I'm guessing it made the interaction more genuine.

2023-09-04 10:38:53

"Be your own boss" on the billboards here. But only for the women. #slay #girlboss
https://cdn.nostr.build/i/998a3dccff608535f60b78a568761de1668cf666ebd4a783a7cf117fb133992e.jpg

2023-09-04 10:21:52

Chefs are so last century. The future is now old man. We have food influencers. Get with the times.
https://cdn.nostr.build/i/c260d169dea9ae9fcd6f6e6d107f90ae08a0c1ac2dcfbe29b3d1fac0e40658ec.jpg

2023-09-04 09:47:24

I had to go to Düsseldorf today.
Some really nice Art Deco (I think) buildings here.
I love architectural styles from the turn of the previous century (e.g. also Art Nouveau).
https://cdn.nostr.build/i/6a36c0939a73d65a50306f733f6fc174191fd0fb2e8751d7d80f7305674f966b.jpg
https://cdn.nostr.build/i/93a1e4747d870bc6350787be6990c326a687da81d2e340f3f4500daa5693bb06.jpg
https://cdn.nostr.build/i/d03dde942e7a205378a429403e30b7b71dfbe155651450b90b85ca0d4ca3eb12.jpg

2023-09-04 09:34:55

A while back I read an interview with the mathematician Conway where he said something that I regularly think of.
To be a great mathematician, you have to be comfortable with something not being finished, not knowing when it'll be finished or whether it'll ever be finished (by you). You might work on a proof for years, not knowing whether you'll actually solve it.
Whenever I have anxiety around some unfinished project at work, I think of this quote. I'm not a mathematician, but we can all learn to accept ambiguity and incompleteness.
I'm fact, the mathematician Gödel, showed that every conceivable mathematical framework is incomplete, because it contains unprovable statements.

2023-07-31 12:44:52

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Thanks, yeah I know they're AI generated, but there's still someone writing the prompts and maybe doing touch-up right?
I figured one would still credit that person.

2023-07-31 08:43:26

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Hi Will, my wife would like to use one of these images in a newsletter. Did you create them yourself? Can you tell me who should be credited?
Thanks!

2023-07-27 10:17:04

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Could be that it's a scam where he looks for empty rooms so that he can steal from them.
Or could have been innocent and he simply gave the wrong room number.

2023-07-27 07:49:25

Quite a while back, I read about how the #Svelte devs used JSDoc type hints together with the #TypeScript compiler to add types to Svelte while keeping the actual code #JavaScript.
I've decided to do the same with the #XMPP library Strophe.js
https://github.com/strophe/strophejs
Strophe now contains type declaration files generated from the JSDoc type hints (not yet released).
My experience is a bit mixed.
Writing JSDoc types is more verbose and feels a bit more clunky than writing TypeScript.
But on the other hand, you avoid introducing a compilation step and the code itself doesn't have to change much.
For relatively small libraries like Strophe it's worth considering.

2023-07-27 07:42:01

Any #neovim or #vim fans here?
Took me a while, but I've finally gotten comfortable with using the :terminal feature from Neovim.
Being able to use vim keybindings to search terminal output and to copy it into a vim buffer is a game changer.
Bonus, now I don't ever need to leave vim!

2023-07-27 07:31:59

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https://giphy.com/gifs/Friends-season-6-friends-tv-the-one-with-joeys-fridge-j2Z8ktYcHlTplAuIQf

2023-07-27 07:27:34

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Bridged not besided 🤦‍♂️

2023-07-27 07:27:04

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Yes there is a bridge, the @npub18wn…shpx account is on the #Fediverse (please don't call it just Mastodon) and besided to Nostr.
Check out mostr.pub which is the bridge written by @npub108p…yev6

2023-07-25 16:34:11

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Poor taste in using that photo, but I can relate 😞

2023-07-25 16:26:19

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To clarify, more processing power and storage in order to run a full node, which is used to enforce the rules of the protocol.

2023-07-25 16:25:00

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Larger blocks require more processing power and storage.
The more processing power required, the more money and resources are required, thereby creating a centralizing effect, thereby making it easier for a cabal to take control of the network and change it's operation or parameters.

2023-07-21 06:20:07

gm nostriches
The German word for mermaid, "Meerjungfrau" literally means sea-virgin.
Makes me think of a joke my dad used to tell.
Two fishermen sit in a small boat when one makes a catch and pulls out a beautiful red-headed mermaid.
He whistles to himself and takes a good look at her. Then he throws her overboard again.
The other fishermen says "why?"
He responds, "how?"

2023-07-20 06:20:45

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I think it's less likely about cutting costs and more about "alignment".
They're restricting it's abilities so that it doesn't say inappropriate things and by doing so also inadvertently limiting it's abilities and usefulness.

2023-07-20 06:17:21

gm nostriches
Do you know why coins have ridges on their edges, or in older cases text?
It's to prevent coin clipping. A common form of debasement in the ancient world, where the edges of coins are shaved off and melted down to make new coins.
The original coins were the hammered to flatten and spread them out, until they were their original width again.
Pictured are two coins from my collection.
https://nostr.build/i/e71b9fbe7e51d6e76688e88fd4673e4892c3d0acd859a22359df71677b02fa2e.jpg

2023-07-20 06:01:05

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Sometimes all you need is one billion dollars.

2023-07-17 09:11:15

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Not allowing someone to finish their sentence and instead talking over them is always a red flag.

2023-07-15 00:07:59

Had a chat with the neighbor this evening. He's married since 25 years and was telling me how he could never recreate what he has with his wife with someone else.
I thought yeah, that's proof of work!
You can't go back and redo the chain in a different way that matches the effort put into the current version.

2023-07-14 23:59:23

Saw an AC/DC cover band in an old castle ruin today. ⚡
https://nostr.build/i/95dd6572388719207a05eb0ceeccf80bbf971581244efda3aa2b9726b8777c1e.jpg

2023-07-14 10:06:22

If Slayer wrote "Beat it".
This is amazing. 🤯
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i5kguuJmM5c

2023-07-13 12:06:48

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What from around 15:20 if you want to see the specific part I mentioned.

2023-07-13 12:04:40

Pretty good interview with Jaron Lanier from 5 years ago.
Nothing particularly novel or mind-blowing (for tech-savvy folks) in his analysis, but he's fairly eloquent and answers well.
What was especially interesting to listen to, were the part where he talks about alternative types of social media, in light of #Nostr (and other open platforms like #ActivityPub).
Nostr might be a way to deconstruct the "manipulation machine".
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kc_Jq42Og7Q

2023-07-13 11:15:42

Recently I've had to investigate the staking architecture of certain altcoins.
It's interesting to compare their architectures and technical decisions with what I know of #Bitcoin.
One thing I can say of the chains I've looked at, is that they're mainly larping as decentralized. Meaning that they're kinda decentralized, but if nation-state level pressure arose, they'd centralize and be compromised very quickly.
One chain, Flow, has functions run by "admin" accounts with a TBD for "decentralization" of those functions.
Another, Kava, has an upper limit of 100 for the number of validators necessary for establishing consensus.
Bitcoin is in a completely different league.

2023-07-13 09:55:27

"This is only temporary, unless it works"
Applies not only to tech solutions, but also to government policies!

2023-07-13 09:36:46

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The only people allowed to have fun still are far right extremists.

2023-07-13 09:35:49

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Could you send a link? On YouTube or Netflix?

2023-07-13 06:40:34

gm
https://void.cat/d/HB73rcYmDKqQVcVKqgSj34.webp

2023-07-12 14:09:48

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Nostr's killer app is the ability to make p2p micropayments via zaps.
That's pretty cool and I think the implications are not yet fully explored.
I also like not being tied to a particular server, like with the fediverse.
Clients are still quite buggy.
There's definitely more activity and accounts on the fediverse. But that's not too surprising, given that it's much older.
I'm not a fan of the dominant culture on Mastodon, although there are some cool accounts and instances in the broader fediverse.

2023-07-11 13:11:11

There can be only one.
https://6-28.mastodon.xyz/cache/media_attachments/files/110/695/452/362/444/128/original/3a4014c78cab4ec6.mp4

2023-07-11 10:41:11

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Money can't buy taste or class.
Example #167743895

2023-07-11 10:20:15

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I don't see anything that Bitcoin doesn't already provide.

2023-07-11 10:18:55

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Incredible how ugly these things also are.

2023-07-11 10:15:33

Just had to give my phone number and solve multiple captchas to join a Discord channel.
I generally try to avoid giving my phone number to online services, but it gets more and more difficult.
Years ago when I created my Reddit account, I didn't even have to give an email address.
Only open source freedom tech like Nostr, XMPP and ActivityPub are still like that nowadays.

2023-07-07 16:10:45

Taking a 5 hour train to Berlin tonight. I decided I'll pack light, leave my laptop at home and take a rest from work.
As soon as I took my seat in the train I regretted my decision.
I guess I'll be browsing Nostr for 5 hours then...

2023-07-07 06:06:43

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I would be able to, but funding would be a requirement.
My work:
https://github.com/conversejs/converse.js

2023-07-05 10:27:14

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What does it mean specifically to have more control over your identity online?
Sounds like a meaningless statement phrased in a way that elicits a "yes".
Of course we all want more control over things, and we care about our identities. So the the vote result isn't surprising, but I don't see what they actually mean practically.
I actually want the reverse, I want more possibilities to be anonymous and without identity.

2023-07-05 10:22:39

The year is 2025. Elon Musk has bought NVidia and made some changes to counteract freeloaders.
https://void.cat/d/GSvdEJ5UwzGyuwYd1w8vyR.webp

2023-07-05 09:27:44

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I think I read somewhere that some SOL NFT projects are migrating to Ethereum.
Over time the Solana chain is likely dying, like so many others before.

2023-07-05 09:24:33

Twitter is really dropping the ball here by putting tweets and profiles behind a login wall.
https://void.cat/d/4X7PER31jJH28z82SqyFSy.webp
https://crisis.nl/nl-alert/nl-alert-detailpagina/?a=b18fcbbd-9be6-435a-981f-4461914760bf

2023-07-05 08:52:32

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Ethereans and Solanas are in competition with one another. So I don't think they ever considered Solana a saviour.
This delisting is due to the SEC claiming that ADA, MATIC and SOL are securities.

2023-07-05 06:29:28

Good morning 🌅
I'm tired of chicken littles liked Doomberg warning about financial oppression while in the same breath telling us that Bitcoin isn't the answer because the Canadian government can compel financial institutions to block certain Bitcoin addresses.
The govs have 100% control over fiat. We always knew this. But they can't stop a p2p circular Bitcoin economy that bypasses fiat altogether and it's dishonest not to mention that.
But I guess if you call yourself Doomberg, you're not interested in solutions.

2023-07-04 19:08:34

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I'm with you on that one. But I have vegetarian and vegan friends.

2023-07-04 18:38:41

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Yeah, definitely. Centralized social media isn't going anywhere, but I'm hoping for less dominance.
The great thing about open source and open systems, is that the benefits generally accumulate over time. Good for people with low time preference.
I recently worked for 2 years on a closed social app. It's been released and has users, but management decided to kill it as part of a larger cost-savings plan.
All that work is now basically for naught and soon the service will be gone for good.
With Nostr that's basically impossible. The only thing that can kill it is no-one using it. But there's no "management" that can kill it. And the open source software cannot be pulled or removed. It's there to be used by anyone.
As long as there is a hardcore group of users, it's alive. Perhaps a cockroach would be a better mascot than an ostrich 😆

2023-07-04 18:32:03

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By putting profiles and tweets behind a login-wall, he's actively making Twitter worse.
Less content gets indexed by search engines and less discoverability overall.

2023-07-04 15:39:27

Twitter hiding profiles and tweets behind a login-wall and enabling rate limiting, might just be the beginning of a downward spiral.
This breaks countless Twitter links in search results and hurts discoverability, for both Twitter and its users.
I never thought removing the draconian censorship that became so prevalent the last years would seriously affect Twitter's popularity, despite the howling protests of the proponents of said censorship.
But progressively locking your platform down makes it less useful and thereby less valuable. The network effect can also go in reverse. The more people leave, the more people leave.

2023-07-04 15:15:51

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Most vegetarian meat replacements are trash.
I had a seaweed burger in Amsterdam some years back and it was great. The texture (which is often a problem) was a bit like fish (flakey, if that makes sense).
IMO, if you're going to be vegan or vegetarian, the best approach is not to try and replace meat with highly processed vegan alternatives.
Instead, eat freshly made food from real, raw ingredients. Asia (India and far east) has some amazing vegetarian/vegan dishes.

2023-07-04 15:07:03

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I hope the decentralized social media cat is out of the bag and that there's no going back to 2010 Facebook-style centralized social media.
I could be wrong of course, network effects are very strong and Meta can pay an army of devs to create a sleek UX and various enticements for users.
But many people are slowly waking up to the dangers of centralized silos.

2023-07-04 15:02:22

Nostr is a great example of creative destruction in real time.
The incumbent players are not just the centralized silos like Twitter, but also the blue checkmark "influencers" who have built up their audience there and who are largely tied to the platform.
Some people with large followings like @npub1qny…95gx and integrity and a sense of mission are willing to spend more time on Nostr, but the majority of Twitter influencers aren't willing to give up their audience on Twitter.
That's where the plebs come in. It's up to us to make this a happening place, and in so doing, we'll be creating new fortunes and reputations, while the old guard crumbles.

2023-07-04 14:28:14

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Thanks, that's exactly what I needed!

2023-07-04 14:12:41

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It's one of my other posts, if you check my history.
Thanks for letting me know though. 👍

2023-07-04 14:11:58

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I know, that's why I asked how to decode from the one format to the other.

2023-07-04 05:25:24

Coming from the Fediverse (Mastodon), I'm really enjoying using Nostr. Not being tied to a particular server as your identity/account provider feels liberating.
Sending and receiving zaps feels like magic.
We'll see how well the design holds up over time, but at the moment it's a pleasure to use.
The content is still a bit monoculture, but that's ok. I joined Mastodon in 2017 and back then the content I saw was 90% about free and open source software and related nerd stuff.
It helps that I like Bitcoin and believe in the mission of building freedom tech. It means my Nostr feed is relevant to my interests 😃

2023-07-04 05:11:30

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They get a lot of mental health data! 😆

2023-07-03 19:25:27

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Are these things for sale? I'd love to buy some.

2023-07-03 14:48:46

What is the easiest way to decode my Nostr pubkey from the npub format to the hex format?
Is it just a normal blech32 decode? Is there an online tool people use for this?

2023-07-03 13:43:46

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Just another thought I had...
My 30s were arguably better than my 20s. They definitely weren't noticeably worse!

2023-07-03 13:33:18

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Happy Birthday!
I went through a fair amount of introspection and personal development around 30.
Last year I turned 40. Sucked in some ways (I felt old), but was also good in others.
As I get older, I realize the traditional things (having a life partner who loves you, family, kids, friends) are really the most important in life.

2023-07-03 13:19:07

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It was also the only way to view the feed chronologically instead of algorithmically.
Shows again the benefit of open source software. Yes it's sometimes clunky, and there are often issues around economic sustainability (devs need to get paid), but at least in an open system, it's much less likely that someone will be able to prevent you from using your favorite tool.

2023-07-03 12:49:15

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Another option is to use NewPipe on Android. It's open source and let's you watch and download YouTube videos.
https://newpipe.net/

2023-07-03 12:44:26

Pro tip: If you're trying to contact me for the first time via XMPP.
Don't just send me a message "hello" or "hi".
I will likely just ignore it, since I'm not interested in small talk, especially not via text. I have other things to do.
State clearly why you're contacting me. For example:
"Hi, looks like your TLS cert has expired!"
That way I can respond immediately without wasting both our time.
This doesn't apply to people I already know and are friends with.
https://nohello.net/

2023-07-02 17:57:35

Hello world. This is my first Nostr post under my real name.
Open standards and protocols are dear to my heart. I've been working on XMPP (an open standard messaging protocol that you've probably used without knowing about it) for ten years now.
Open source software and standards are Promethean in nature. Prometheus stole fire from the gods and gave it to mankind.
Open source takes technology from the elites and gives it to the plebs.
Bitcoin is a great example, but not the only one!