So I did a thing... I'm officially starting the process of migrating to Linux. I just installed Pop!_OS on a smaller SSD in my home PC, so I can now dual-boot between Windows 10 and Linux. Since my old X99 system can't officially upgrade to Windows 11, it seemed like the right time to finally dive in and learn Linux properly. What's funny is that, despite being about 12 years old, this machine is still the most powerful computer I have access to for many workloads—even outperforming my brand-new office PC in several areas. It has aged remarkably well. I'm not abandoning Windows overnight, but from here on out I'll be spending more time on the Linux side, learning the ecosystem, experimenting, and seeing where it makes sense. Should be a fun adventure.

I’ll be closing several Lightning channels over the next few days as I prepare for a big move. If we have an open channel and you’d prefer to coordinate or rebalance before closure, feel free to reach out. Appreciate everyone I’ve routed with ⚡

Life update. Our family is leaving Massachusetts at the end of March and heading west to the eastern Washington / northern Idaho area. The East Coast chapter was a great experiment, but we’re ready to slow things down a bit and be closer to family, less city life, and hopefully room for things like a big garden, small brewery, or maybe even a little homestead someday. Planning to take the long drive along I-90 and start the next chapter. Also using this moment to rethink privacy, digital footprint, and personal op-sec. If you’ve gone down that rabbit hole and have advice or resources, I’d appreciate it. Feels like the right direction. Feels like moving a little closer to the frontier again.

Hi, Bitly’s research team is conducting 60-minute virtual interviews with people who use Bitcoin hardware wallets. Sessions are scheduled February 4-13 via Google Meet, and participants receive a $100 gift card upon completion. If you’re interested, there’s a brief 4-minute screening survey to determine eligibility. Spots are limited. For more information or questions, you can contact the recruiter, Tayler, at 312-342-6360. Survey link: https://www.griotrecruit.co/projects/bitcoiner-self-custody-wallet

I just learned that I was awarded a ~$100,000 grant to purchase some new equipment for my lab at work. That feels good! 🧑‍🔧🧑‍🔬

I found an old wallet.dat file on an external backup drive from 2015. It was just an old dust wallet, but that dust isn't quite dust anymore. Just swept it into a modern wallet. Nice.

Oh my... what is this old file???

I love overclocking and benchmarking hardware...

Looks like Twitter is down. Hello nostr!!!

Full house tonight at Christ the King Lutheran Church Holliston Massachusetts for our November community dinner! When there's more people than expected, we roll out more tables and chairs. ⛪️

Full house tonight at Christ the King Lutheran Church Holliston Massachusetts for our November community dinner! When there's more people than expected, we roll out more tables and chairs. ⛪️

My four-year-old wanted to watch a movie about trains. 🚆 So now we're watching Atlas Shrugged. 😆

I just had lunch with an old friend of mine who is a class of early 2011 Bitcoiner. He is not on any social media. We had a great conversation about how far bitcoin has come and how crazy things are today. Stack friends. 🧡🧡

I just finished Richard Rhodes’ The Making of the Atomic Bomb. What a book—long and heavy, but I really enjoyed it. I already knew a lot about the Manhattan Project itself, but what stood out this time were the stories of the scientists as people. Seeing them not just as names in textbooks, but as real, human characters gave me a whole new appreciation. I’ve especially connected with Ernest Rutherford—an experimentalist at heart, like me. Reading about him brought me back to the joy I felt doing chemistry experiments as a teenager in my garage lab. So now I’ve picked up Rhodes’ full Rutherford biography, A Force of Nature, to dive deeper. Most of what became modern nuclear physics was uncovered well before the Manhattan Project—between 1910 and 1932—when Rutherford and his students were at the center of discovery. Reading about those experiments is reminding me why I fell in love with science in the first place.

Just published: Bitcoin ≠ Crypto: Why the Distinction Matters If you're trying to explain why Bitcoin stands apart from the rest of the crypto world—technically, economically, and culturally—this piece is for you. I tried my best to articulate some of these concepts to be shared and read by a broader audience.

The Progressive Bitcoiner

Bitcoin ≠ Crypto: Why it Matters

This is not a small distinction. It’s the line between a world where financial power is centralized, opaque, and weaponized and a world where rul...

This was my church this morning 🌄. It is some nice to have service outside!

I am very excited to be traveling to Washington DC to attend the Bitcoin Policy Institute 2025 Summit!

I paid for lunch and beers 🍻 at the beach ⛱️ today with an app connected to my Lightning bitcoin node. It just worked, instantly, 3 hops, and paid 60 sats in fees.

Last year I managed my own retirement account as a Bitcoiner learning the TradFi system after understanding Bitcoin. ✅ Built a portfolio based on scarcity, energy, long-term value ✅ Focused on uranium, gold, and (of course) bitcoin ✅ Outperformed my employer 401k and the S&P 500 ❌ Did not outperform bitcoin itself — and that’s okay ;) +36.89% return in 12 months. Full write-up:

The Progressive Bitcoiner

A Bitcoiner Tries TradFi — First Year Portfolio Reflection

It’s been a year since I made the decision to start managing some of my retirement savings myself, rather than delegating that role to someone el...

#bitcoin #tradfi #investing #financialsovereignty

Having some Merlot. @Ben Justman🍷 Your Merlot is indeed very tasty. In the lighter side of color and body, but great flavors. Berry, vanilla, current. A playful fruity wine. Quite nice. It was fantastic with our brisket tonight. This is my plug for you to keep making it! 🍷