In the 80s, the only thing I knew about AI was R2-D2 and Skynet. Oh and that it took the Butlerian Jihad to kill off the thinking machines. Now, I am using it to get work done instead of hiring six or seven people I can't afford. It isn't yet what I thought it would be. Maybe that's later.

The concept of consolidating power and trapping willing people in a system is built on two key elements: 1) encouraging the contruction of cities to concentrate both the people and the resources in one place for appropriation and surveillance, and 2) establishing and enforcing a permissioned system of commerce where allegiance to the power is required to participate. We're seeing this happen today around the world, but it isn't a new strategy. It was exactly what Nimrod was doing when he built the tower of Babel. We all know what happened after that.

I bought bitclin for as low as $5500 in 2018. I had to wait until Christmas 2020 before it doubled (almost 3 years). It feels like another one of those slow times when the bigger issues in the financial world take center stage. When I look back at the past 8 years, I'm amazed at what bitcoin has allowed me to do: say no to vax mandates, buy my estate, travel to Japan, build up meaningful savings, just to name a few. The next phase will be challenging, I'm sure. I'd like the dollar to recede, but I don't think it will. Hopefully bitcoin will help me do some more remarkable things during that time. It feels like we're always waiting for some other shoe to drop or for NGU, but I'm pretty pleased with the outcomes so far.

Sometimes I feel I am so ready to move to the next phase of whatever it is we are going through, but at the same time, I know things are peaceful enough for me to drive 1,000 miles across country every month or so without worrying a drone strike might take me out for no apparent reason.