Slightly disappointed that Scardust didn’t make the cut here but pleased that Igorrr came top. Well worth checking out if you like a bit of prog metal, especially if you’re into destroying pianos.

Black metal rules. Here are five albums from this year that are well worth a listen.

A little sad, but not very surprised, to report that Saifedean Ammous appears to have lost his marbles. I got as far as p142 of this, but it’s so stupid I don’t think I can go any further. This is probably one of the more idiotic bits, although I guess it’s supposed to be funny somehow. Also, the whole thing about Bleriot and his flying gold transportation company, named BTC (ho ho) is really really dumb. Alternative histories are sometimes fun but for them to work they really need to be believable. This is not, and just reads like the deranged fantasies of someone who has lost his grip on reality. Stick to the economics and antisemitism Saif, at least you’re passably good at that.

I've finally finished it. In my view this is an improvement over Avi’s first book 24 (which was itself great) and is a more exciting and racy read. It kind of reads like a cross between a detective story (first half) and a James Bond thriller (second half), with a bit of Douglas Adams (improbable coincidences seem to happen a lot) and Salman Rushdie (plenty of magical realism) thrown in. It follows Oliver Battolo in his ongoing quest (it's basically his hero's story) to find what happened to his father, who we found in the first book was missing, presumed dead, following a boating accident (ho ho, Bitcoin joke there). Oliver continues to investigate the mystery around the strange paintings we first encountered in 24 and gets himself into all kinds of scrapes, learning about himself and growing up along the way. He's not the only one looking to solve the mystery though, and has to find out the secret in the paintings before others do, including his arch enemy Nick, the frustrated and vindictive shitcoiner (I wonder which person in real life he is based on). There are, of course, lots of references to Bitcoin throughout, which is to be expected, although I don't think the reader really needs to be that knowledgeable about it beyond knowing about seed phrases being a key feature (side note: interestingly this was not a Satoshi invention, even though it's one of the more magical things about Bitcoin). I haven't got round to trying to figure out if there are any clues in the book, as there were in the first one, but I am reliably informed that there are things to be found if you look closely. I would be really interested to hear if anyone finds any. Overall, highly recommended. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Look out for a “Bitcoin bro” movie coming next year that attempts to reclaim the reputation of Faketoshi Craig Wright. My guess is it will be either hilariously bad or total cringe.

I’m over half way through this now and I can reveal that this is the best book I’ve read in a long time. It’s an exciting detective story with Bitcoin playing a starring role. Poor Oliver, now in possession of an unfeasibly large fortune but unable to safely spend it, is finding life even more difficult and is struggling to figure out the mystery of the six spiral symbol he sees everywhere. Will he figure it out, or will his shitcoiner nemesis Nick get to him first? I need to carry on reading to find out.

Guess where I am.

I was going to go for a swim but I think I might give it a miss today. 😲

GM. Here is a bit of long-tailed tit action for you.

GM. Is this a sign?

Uranium glass is cool.

Belated GM. A chilly and misty swim this morning. It was nice to have a bag carrier and photography assistant on the riverside.

I don’t really understand what is going on here, but it looks bad for nChain so it has to be a good thing. https://www.marketwatch.com/press-release/blockchain-breakthrough-federal-court-crushes-nchain-s-dismissal-bid-in-distromint-llc-s-explosive-contract-clash-bac5d368

Martin Durkin is a national treasure. This is an awesome analysis and demolition of the “new class”. Their members are everywhere, we all know who they are, and they are destroying everything.

Ping. There’s somebody at the gate. Oh.