View quoted note → If you look at the enterprise value of Defense Sector private enterprises during wartime and compare to USG spending on wars, it is literally cheaper to pay the contractors to NOT fight than it is to fight. So then it comes down to values: are governments fighting popular wars or unpopular wars. Unless there's something not communicated to us, it feels as though unpopular wars come with a lot of self dealings for government officials. And history supports that: with so much attention on war news there's less oversight on personal dealings of officials, and they take advantage of that and their insider access and information.

How did we go from vibing to maxxing so quickly?

It's underappreciated how important @npub1mayq...hl50 is for the future adoption of Bitcoin. Bitcoin is by far the most convenient and fastest way to make payments online. No need to enter in credit card information, addresses, etc. For purchases outside of the gated gardens of Amazon and FB marketplace. But IRL, tapping a card is faster and easier than scanning a QR code. I'll use Bitcoin online, but I'm still reaching for fiat at brick and mortar because it's a faster transaction experience. We need tap to pay with Bitcoin.

View quoted note → Nostr as social networking should be the least interesting use case. What can be built on top of it, such as @Soapbox is doing with Armada and other tools, what @hodlbod is doing with Flotilla, as a sign-in like what @Club Orange and @SOUND HSA are doing, or what @routstr is doing with AI transacting with Bitcoin, and of course the Nostr VPN, are much more interesting uses of Nostr. Speech isn't just the words we use. It's how we express ourselves, the associations we make, the money we use, how we choose to reveal information. You'll see the ebbs and flows of posting activity less relevant as the possibilities for permissionless internet expands.

I was at a conference speaking with a couple of guys from tech. One works on data centers the other software. One thought I was weird for being into Bitcoin. The other for using GrapheneOS. Actually both thought GrapheneOS was weird. At what point did surveillance become so normalized, those subjected to it themselves insist upon it for others?

I read somewhere that LinkedIn is for posers and X has an inordinate number of actual successful people engaging on there, just hidden behind avatars. Nostr has a select number of people who have figured life out, are themselves here, and hidden behind avatars in real life.

I open one Nostr app: no new notifications for a month. Cool. Sounds about right for me. I open another Nostr app: 50 updates and @HODL now follows you. JFC- I can’t tell if I’m now finally Bitcoin cool or if Nostr standards finally fell to my level I slop around in. More likely second app is probably broken. Stay classy and predictable Nostr!