One of my favourite musings on reality comes from the great science fiction writer, Philip K Dick. In the anthology, The Shifting Realities of Philip K. Dick, it quotes a speech he delivered in 1978: “It was always my hope, in writing novels and stories which asked the question ‘what is reality?’, to someday get an answer…” But even after writing over thirty novels, he never found one. When asked to define reality, he said: “‘Reality is that which, when you stop believing in it, doesn’t go away.’ That’s all I could come up with.”… He knew we needed a better answer, so he continued: “… because today we live in a society in which spurious realities are manufactured by the media, by governments, by big corporations, by religious groups, political groups… Very sophisticated people using very sophisticated electronic mechanisms. I do not distress their motives; I distrust their power. They have a lot of it. And it is an astonishing power: that creating whole universe, universe of the mind, I ought to know… it is my job to create universes… And I have to build them in such a way that they do not fall apart two days later. “… the matter of defining what is real— that is a serious topic, even a vital topic. And in there somewhere is the other topic, the definition of the authentic human. Because the bombardment of pseudo-realities begins to produce in authentic humans very quickly— as fake as the data pressing at them from all sides. Fake realities will create fake humans. Or, fake humans will generate fake realities, and then sell them to other humans, turning them, eventually, into forgeries of themselves…. It is just a very large version of Disneyland.” Wise words as we navigate a media landscape where powerful actors are trying to fabricate realities and manipulate our perception. Happy to be on NOSTR with you all working to build something authentic and real. Take a few deep breaths. Go for a walk. Call your mom and dad. Hug your friends. Fall in love. Place your time, energy and attention on things that are real and beautiful. ❤️

GM ☀️.

My time preference is too low to eat pizza.

A few shots from my morning walk. #stayweird NOSTR 👊🏻.

How long do I have to post on NOSTR before getting invited to a secret @White Noise group chat? I’m here for the group chats.

Browsing through @Sovereign Engineering webpage which makes reference to Earnest Shackleton and the Endurance mission. Consider my mind blown. Do that and you have a brother for life in this guy. Let’s go. I read Alfred Lansing’s book about the Endurance mission for the 5th time to kick off 2026. It’s an amazing story of adventure and expression of the human will to survive and one of the greatest survival and leadership stories ever. -28 men stranded in Antarctica as their ship was crushed in the ice flows -No communication with the outside world -3 life boats, some guns, some rations, tents, reindeer skin sleeping bags and a group of (mostly) cheerful chaps. I’ll do my best to not spoil it. Shackleton’s family motto = Fortitudine vincimus, which is Latin for “Through endurance we conquer.” A favourite quote from the book talking about how the situation they were put in allowed Shackleton to express his true genius: “Thus, while Shackleton was undeniably out of place, even inept, in a great many everyday situations, he had a talent—a genius even—that he shared with only a handful of men throughout history—genuine leadership. He was, as one of his men put it, “the greatest leader that ever came on God’s earth, bar none.” For all his blind spots and inadequacies, Shackleton merited this tribute: For scientific leadership give me Scott; for swift and efficient travel, Amundsen; but when you are in a hopeless situation, and when there seems no way out, get down on your knees and pray for Shackleton.” May that inspire you to find a situation where you can express your own genius. Highly recommended read. WGMI.