I'm leery about answering DMs here.

Growing up, our generation didn't have the internet and we were required to read books, talk to a librarian, and work with a group of people (sometimes multiple times) to gain knowledge faster. To learn something hands-on, we had to speak to someone directly and interact with a person physically to learn something. Think hunting, fishing, welding, fixing a vehicle, sewing, cooking, dancing, etc. We didn't have YouTube. Because we were forced to interact with others regularly, we were required to learn how to communicate professionally to prepare us for the workplace, to have conversation, manners, etc. Today's younger generations do not have the same skillsets by the time they are young adults. It was a different time.

Premeditated harm is never the answer. If someone is actively causing harm to you or someone who cannot defend themselves in your physical presence, you have the right to immediate self-defense or defense of others. If someone hurt you or someone else, and it appears they got away with it, you do not have the right to go back months or years later and intentionally premeditate their harm for a future date. I believe that justice comes in many forms. I do not trust in karma. I trust in Allah and the Day of Judgement. I trusted Him long before I knew how to say "God" in Arabic. If you live long enough, you may see others who caused you or loved ones harm suffer due to "circumstance" or other issues. It was never a coincidence. God Almighty is the best planner, guardian, trustee over all things, and disposer of affairs. The Quran clarifies that even those who "appear" to get away with things do not. You'll see as you read through it for yourself (the whole way through, front to back). It's scary to know what will happen to unrepentant people who appear to get away with the harm they purposely inflicted on others. It is not wise to add to your own guilt by engaging in premeditated harm to individuals because you don't see the plans Allah has for them.

Interesting X Algorithm Results I extended the muted words list to include anything rage-baity, political, put-downs, derogatory terms, plus any other trigger words or phrases I've seen content in this category use often. Then I took it another step further, clicking the little dots next to a post and choosing "Not interested in this post," "This post isn't relative," or "See less posts from ....." I expected my time to clear out. It did. I expected X to serve me a variety of new content from at least a handful of its enormous daily active user base because I'd shut down most of what it was serving me. It did not. As it sits, the X algorithm did not repopulate my timeline with new and exciting content. Instead, it shows me a handful of posts from people who have posted in the last 24 hours that were already previously sent my way. Guess what? Only a few people in the remaining display accounts post regularly. I can now scroll for about 10 minutes and see "everything." I'm both disappointed and puzzled. 1. Does this mean that the X algorithm only serves content you think you want or deserve without suggesting new things at all? 2. If most of the posts are now gone, and I'm not seeing the rest of the worldwide X content, does this mean that 90% of the X content is toxic, rage-bait, manipulative, or low-IQ? 3. If you can't truly break out of the algorithm (see my past X posts for failed experiments on this) or most of the content is negative, should I stay? If I want to push this further, I can unfollow the rest of the Tate/TRW/Professor accounts. The best place to reach them is inside The Real World. I muted Alex Jones. It's not that I don't appreciate what he does, but my blood pressure can't handle seeing the latest theories every day. I can always hop on over to Infowars and check out the latest when I'm curious. What content remains in my timeline if I push this even further?

Instead of mindlessly scrolling last night, I took surveys for a few cents' worth of sats. I don't remember which survey, but at the end, it asked me a series of questions about statements that I thought were true or false (or somewhere in between) regarding Muslims, violence, and danger. I couldn't tell if the statements were things most Americans were already saying or believing or if the people who put out the survey were testing narratives to see which ones the mainstream media should push next. Of course, all the statements were "Mostly false," which was the only answer closest to "Completely false" shown. It wasn't comforting. I won't bother telling you about the new Kamala Harris campaign ads I had to watch. Horrifying.

This is new. The Real World isn't loading. TRW attempts to load and then shows a black screen. I know they've been working on a few things. Hope it's up soon. I don't want to miss today's live call.

Selling your halal services online is not selling your soul.

For a few moments this morning, my kitchen smelled like a bustling hometown cafe. Strong coffee. Buttered biscuits. Sizzle on the grill.

I'm back to square one on my bitcoin self-custody solution search. I watched Coldcard "how to" videos, but I'm still scared I'm going to screw that up somewhere. Like, really scared. I promise, I can follow directions (I write them for a living), but often the directions I'm looking at do not match the current workflow exactly and my intuitive choices in those moments can mess up a process. This is not something I want to chance. I opted for a Bitkey because I could buy it and have it transferred there in one step, *not two*. When it arrived today, I couldn't set up the app. Turns out my up-to-date phone does not support NFC. 😔 (It's less than a year old, I never use the NFC function on the phone, and I thought it just came "standard" like an option in a car, so I didn't think about it.) How do you buy bitcoin and have it go directly into a cold-storage wallet in one transaction? Ideally, that's the setup I'm looking for. #asknostr

The dog and I got caught in the rain. The slight drizzle turned into a downpour. I dried him off and he wrapped himself in his blanket. I've changed my clothes and am off for more coffee and proofreading. I grew up in the Pacific Northwest. Hearing the rain is comforting, just not 10 months out of the year. ☕️ ☕️

X is currently full of rage bait in all flavors, plus pieces passing as "informative" that lack critical information, mostly on purpose. I started building on X in the first year to establish a base. This second year, I was meant to attract subscribers or find clients. I know I can control how much content I put out and how many replies I make. The challenge I've consistently had is that many times, it is not worth my time to reply to many of these things. - people don't want correction - trolls are only interested in being trolls - reading comprehension is very, very low - you have to explain, declare, or disclose every little thing so someone might believe you - someone else already replied with what I was going to say, so why duplicate it? - Is what I'm about to add adding value? Before I get that far, my most significant energy drain is sorting through all the posts in the feed. I have multiple lists that screen out things, but even then, there's little I can add to the situation, or I cannot comment or interact with it because my followers may start seeing content I know they don't want to see. I have the mute list, but I need to make it longer. The whole point of the X account was to build a business. To do that, you have to play by the algorithm's whims. All I want to do is publish my stories, columns, and thought pieces regularly and get paid for it. You know, like a syndicated columnist used to. Enter Nostr. Now, we have a new dynamic, one returning to its original intent and roots. - Nostr = people following you is basically a person specifically flipping to the opt-ed section of the paper to find your column - Nostr = people gifting you sats is their way of appreciating your content without having to also pay for the sports, news, or business sections - Relays = the old-style distribution methods of the newspapers (concentrated regions with specific requests) It's nerve-tingling and exciting. But is it enough? I can always go back and get a regular job if I want. I didn't want to spend my life doing that, though. Of course, I will if I have to, but there has to be some redemption for the lost years. - Is publishing solely to Nostr that redemption? - Can I improve people's lives by sharing what I know, sharing my stories, teaching my skills, offering my services, or sharing random journal entries? - Can I get back to extra-long walks, writing everything down for the pure joy of it, and sharing my letters with people who are trapped to keep their hope alive? These are all excellent questions.

I'll be lengthening my mute list on X over the next week as terms come to mind. It's long already, but it needs to be longer. I'll be doing this at the expense of seeing some of the latest headlines, current news, politics, & passionate or scathing tones (even if rightfully deserved). If there are 6 million(?) active users on X then there has to be a greater selection of content to find and curate.