Mandrik

The normalization of gambling in all aspects of life, and at all ages, feels like the beginning of the downfall of society. The blackest of black pills. I refuse to participate. Bitcoin is no gamble. The orange pill is our best chance for the future.

I started playing Old School Runescape this year and I kinda dig it. I only play when I'm on my treadmill (which I use a lot more in the winter). Basically a solo player mmo that I can do at my own pace. Totally a vibe. I'm a gamer for life, but I certainly don't let games control my life like they did in my teens and early 20s. I love to play when I have the free time.

My 2026 New Years Resolution is to bake zero pans of baklava.

Want to expose your family members to Bitcoin? Don't send them to exchanges. Don't tell them to buy ETFs. Sell them sats for cash. Peer-to-peer transaction sent directly to their non-custodial wallet. The orange standard of Bitcoin experiences.

Random Wednesday thought: I've never been able to form deep friendships with dudes. Always the peripheral friend, but "bro-less" my entire life. Weirdly enough, I never had a problem with female companionship--romantic or platonic. I'm even married to my best friend, which is incredible. Such a strange position to be in.

The "appeal to OG" argument is weak. Time in Bitcoin doesn't necessarily make you more knowledgeable. It doesn't give more weight to your opinions. OGs can get stuck in their beliefs, detached from the reality of what Bitcoin is today vs what they thought it should be.

Soft motherfuckers make a few bucks during the bull, get comfortable, and turn into scared bitches at the first sign of bear prints in the mud. These are the same soft motherfuckers that said you got lucky. The ones who wish they got in earlier. Those pussies wouldn't have survived past bear markets. They would have sold the bottom and cried about it for the rest of their lives. Can you imagine them stacking and holding for many months after losing 60-80% of their net worth? There isn't enough Tylenol in the world for them to play autism catch up with the real ones who held purely on principle. "Yeah but it's different this time around." You're right. This time you have more knowledge, more support, and more security. You have no excuses. Back then we had a bunch of retards on Reddit, Andreas Antonopoulos, and a whole lotta copium. Some people are allergic to success. Others take it. Choose wisely.

I've been thinking a lot about my nearly 15 years away from the Greek Orthodox Church. I've come to this conclusion - I don't know if I would have the same ethical values without that upbringing. It's easy to think I would when I had that foundation since birth, but I no longer think it's that simple. I've been around a lot of secular people. Not all, but many are in a dark place. People who are missing something from their lives. Ones who didn't have an upbringing similar to mine. I've begun to wonder if these people would benefit from religion in their lives. Some type of positive power to pull them out of the darkness. I'm not saying I've found Jesus. I haven't. But more and more I want to be around the people who have. Because I can't really be around these other people any more. My wife & I have cut most of them out of our lives at this point. We prefer to spend our time around positive people who are working on building better lives. Building families. Nearly all of them are religious. We're both very logical people. Religion and logic were like oil and water to me. But when I look at the state of the world, it's not hard to see the positive impact religion can have on people. That's a very logical conclusion I'm coming to. Also, I miss a lot of the Greek cultural stuff that I grew up, and it's intertwined with the church. It would be strange, but I'm accepting the idea that returning there, even as someone who isn't religious, feels more right than not going. Still working through this but wanted to share. Because bitcoiners are how I got here. The ones having families, going to church, and being decent human beings. Those are the people I want to be around. The alternative is despair and darkness, and I am not going down that road. ✌️🧡

I don't want to linger too much on horrible events, but the Charlie Kirk assassination has rattled me in a very unexpected way. So much, that I'm still working through it. It's no secret that humans are capable of evil. We constantly see it online. We've become desensitized to it. This feels very different, and it's not even the horrible murder itself. Throughout history, non-violent people have been executed for less. Awful, but not unexpected. What's new is seeing friends, or maybe even family, embrace the evil. Be it with gloating, laughing, indifference, etc. We probably all know someone who has reacted in a very startling way to this murder. That's hitting hard these past few days. Politics are irrelevant here. You should be comfortable existing alongside peaceful people who think differently. What I don't want is to be around people who find pleasure or satisfaction in acts of pure evil. I'm questioning why I allowed these people to be a part of my life, or how I didn't notice signs earlier. What could I have done better to possibly prevent this? We're not used to this. I think we're still processing what this means going forward. Who we allow into our lives, and around our children. If the overwhelming majority of humans reacted to this tragedy with disgust and empathy, we wouldn't be here. Unfortunately the evil within some people is worse than realized. And that's terrifying.

🧡 Austin Don't miss BitDevs tomorrow. There will be turtle baklava on a stick!

The discussion around corporations buying Bitcoin is so dull and uninteresting. Easily the most boring and uninspiring topic within Bitcoin that I've ever seen.

Being a bitcoiner comes down to one thing: You don't like being told what to do.

Companies buying Bitcoin are gaming existing systems. Bitcoin is redefining the systems.

Oh look, another undeclared, unconstitutional act of war. The US Constitution is a worthless piece of paper.

Americans are sick of war. You're welcome to go overseas and fight Iran if you think they should be attacked. Just stop stealing our money to pay for it.