I am a critic of BTC because of its public ledger and its related safety and privacy issues. I am concerned many BTC holders are more motivated by getting rich (quick!) than they are about being true to principles. I am a fan of Monero. I have used it to buy a GrapheneOS phone; to pay for VPNs, email aliases, phone numbers, ebooks, gift cards for restaurants; and to tip waitresses — and once to pay back someone for gas money. While I believe in the mission of the Monero project, I’m not confident that the majority of Monero isn't used to buy porn and drugs and other immoral things. I hope people are choosing to buy coffee grounds and tipping the Columbian workers, but I have my doubts, suspecting that their Monero are often going toward less noble causes. Whatever crypto you use, spend it for good, not for evil. Buy some, spend some, give some away — just like fiat. True religion is not your cryptocurrency of choice. Crypto does not save us. It is a tool. You cannot serve God and e-mammon. Touch grass and pray.

Am I the only one who doesn't understand how to use the Amber phone app for signing into Nostr web apps? I wish there was a simple video on how to use it. #asknostr

Sure, it's disrespectful and gross of spectators to throw green dildos onto the court at #WNBA games. But it's also disrespectful and gross for so many players to flaunt their depraved alphabet-community lifestyles. What is the greater sin: a crude prank or taking pride in committing one of the sins that cries out to heaven for vengeance?

When I (re)install Linux on my home desktop computer, should I encrypt the hard drive?

I'm happy with my Debian Linux. So why am I tempted to replace it with Fedora? I thought I was finished distro hopping. I remember installing the very first Fedora release way back when. Every new installation is a bit exciting, but I should stay settled when I have no complaints. In order, my workhorse distros have been: Mandrake Red Hat Fedora Ubuntu Mint Manjaro Debian Anyone have thoughts on whether I should stick with Debian or do Fedora again? I use the desktop for writing, surfing, video watching and editing, photo editing, Monero wallets, and email. I don't care about games, so that's not an issue. And if I could find a good one, I'd use a desktop Nostr client.

How do people feel about banks, credit cards, PayPal, various government agencies all getting involved with #Bitcoin ? Doesn't it make you nervous that the "system" is getting intertwined with it -- with their greedy and suspicious eyes all over the blockchain? The way I see it, they didn't create this open source code, so they shouldn't have their invasive, identifying, regulatory, taxing fingers in it. I wouldn't want them monitoring my leather wallet to track any dollar bills that may have been in it or to see who I paid how much to at what farmers market for a dozen ears of sweet corn. These are some of the thoughts that lead me to be attracted to #Monero. It's still "freedom money," but even more free (without the surveillance and regulations and the threat of unjust taxation to fund absurd or immoral govt projects). Thinking big picture here.

Back in the early 2000s, I used to have to buy Linux distros on CD from eBay. People burned ISOs onto CDs and sold them to those of us who only had dial-up Internet, which made downloading Linux on our own take an ungodly amount of time. Once or twice I bought a distro from an office store. It came in a nice cardboard package with a printed user guide. It was so exciting to install Mandrake Linux and Red Hat back then. I loved StarOffice. Those were the days. My first taste of freedom from Microsoft, which was known at the time for its dreaded "blue screen of death."

I really don't understand how so many freedom-loving and privacy-respecting people using Nostr ignore #Monero in favor of Bitcoin. I've used Monero to send to individuals, to pay for VPNs, to buy a Pixel phone (with GrapheneOS), to buy ebooks, to tip waitresses, and more. It's dirt cheap to send and it's private -- no one can see who sent how much to whom. It's truly like digital cash. It needs no "lightning network." I assume BTC's popularity here comes from its quick rise in value (in relation to the dollar). What's more important: fast wealth or privacy? I will never have to worry about people seeing how much crypto is in my wallet (could lead to physical threats), or taxing my "unrealized gains" (could be financially devastating), or tracking my crypto spending (invading my privacy). In your "freedom," don't be taken by greed for wealth. That's not true freedom. www.getmonero.org

I find that most Nostr desktop web apps totally suck. Which ones do you use for microblogging that work decently?

I would love to try duck eggs.