Social media is having its cyclical moment of revelation, as corporate greed and mismanagement reveals in real time the aims of all corporate and bureaucratic bodies: divide and conquer, erect ideological barriers and paywalls, and leverage any and all accrued power in order to gain more. Reddit, twitter, Facebook, Tiktok, etc. We've all known that they exist to control us, but we wager that the "connection" they afford us is worth our loss of freedom. That horrible freedom: ostracism from the imperial aegis of power structures that so many cling to in a desperate attempt to be "relevant". The fight over money is more difficult and entrenched, and even the bravest, freest Bitcoiners still resort to a fiat-brained outlook from time to time. I think it's important to maintain perspective: being part of a counter-cultural movement doesn't make you important or morally superior in any way. This is what I hear when I read "stay humble, stack sats": Freedom is a dangerous thing that most people will gladly trade away, especially for status, but it's uniquely precious because once it's gone, it can only be won back through horrible, almost certainly violent, sacrifice. To a certain extent, saying that you "love freedom" when you use social media and fiat currency is a LARP, and that should make us humble. True freedom must be feared and respected for the demands it makes on us, and the powerful enemies that it has, not the least of which sits in our skulls and drives us to be proud and status-seeking.

Twitter down again? Oh no, anyways...

Does anyone actually put any stock in what Balaji says/does? Everything about him screams 'grifter' to me. I'm as pie-in-the-sky permabull as they come, but there's a difference between euphoric Bitcoiner and affinity scamming engagement farmer.

My humble mid '22 to now books I've finished. Obviously not a very prolific reader (any more) but I've got to admit how important it is to read printed books and not just online content. There's so much out there to read and it's such an important activity. I mean reading in general, but also specific canonical texts that define generations and generate new conversations easily.

Watching Andrew Yang on Bill Maher and came to the realisation: Joe Biden is King Lear; knows he should step down but also knows that if he does he'll be betrayed and attacked by his successor.

Gm y'all. Had a thought this morning, might seem a bit pessimistic, but it's a definite possibility that should be considered and has a ton of upside. This little subculture, being a bitcoiner, is likely going to completely disappear once hyperbitcoinisation takes place. When Bitcoin is "just" money, you won't relate to another person who uses it any more than you relate to anyone using fiat today. The current Bitcoin media landscape of influencers, bloggers, cheerleaders, etc. is going to be completely subsumed by better-resourced alternatives, and many of these will probably start becoming hardcore revisionists, claiming to have supported BTC for ages. On the other hand, the OGs, devs, thought leaders could get elevated to mythical status as people look for guidance through this new paradigm, and obviously everyone who hodls will reap plenty of rewards of their own. Maybe some will try to keep Bitcoin maximalism communities alive, to try and freeze the euphoria of the early days in stasis, but I am eagerly looking forward to what the future brings. No matter what happens, Bitcoin history is being made right now.

GM. Trying to wrap my head around the situation as these clowns try to wrap their purse strings around our necks. I memed about it yesterday, the doublethink, the non-statements couched with other non-statements, but today I'm not finding it so funny anymore. Trust the banks, but no bailouts. At the time I thought "Well that's pretty fucking stupid. The only reason to trust the banks is because you know they'll get bailed out." We all know that the Fed is just firing into a crowded street based on old data and neoliberal ideological precepts, but the common wisdom being passed around has been "Don't fight the Fed; they are committed to the mission of reining in the money supply." So which is it? Is the para-political cartel in charge of regulating the global economy, and therefore all of our lives through asset, commodity and credit prices, a serious but highly flawed institution with an impossible task, or a bunch of sadistic jokers who will literally say or do anything to keep their sad little house of cards standing? I firmly believe it's the latter, but it doesn't matter. "Don't fight the Fed" is good advice, when paired with: "When you notice that an enemy is making an error, take care not to interfere with the enemy from completing it so you can take advantage at the right time." And don't assume that they can even recognise the error, as they keep making the same one over and over. Opt out, buy Bitcoin, fuck the Fed, and pura vida.