Quoted the original note, and in that note uploaded the video on Primal (desktop).

With 16gb ram and a basic 2tb SATA ssd, people might give you $200-250 for them, maybe. Marketing then as Bitcoin nodes and offering to help get them set up with a little bit of your time would likely earn you your profit margin, rather than the hardware itself.

To be clear: I'm critical not of the vision or BTC in general, but rather what it's morphed in to, which is essentially a really volatile commodity. It can never become anything *in itself* as long as it's traded alongside soybeans and corn down at the Merc. It's forever pegged to the USD, and forever susceptible to all the fluctuations that hit other commodities.

Since when did Kansas get tolls all over I-35?

Something I’m rather firm on is that if you have the ability to make children and you do not. You are in 99.99% if circumstances making a gigantic mistake.

Children make life worth living.

Children provide instant meaning to life.

They inspire planning and care about the future.

They increase joy.

They make life novel and exciting again.

They’re innovative, surprising and imaginative.

They reflexively shape us as we attempt to shape them into better versions of themselves/ourselves.

If you have children and they have children you will be increasingly surrounded by life as you grow old.

If you do not, you will be surrounded by death as everyone you know slowly dies.

You will never regret having kids.

You will certainly regret not having them.

If you have kids you are honoring the sacrifice and suffering your ancestors had to endure by passing the torch forward.

If you do not you are dishonoring them by wasting your life on the meaningless pursuit of your own pleasure.

These are very strongly held immutable beliefs for me.

My old hat from college. Used to be white, but is now stained from some good times and the red dirt out at our country property.

The wife says it's gross and I need to wash it, I like the character and memories ground into it.

What do you think?

Bitcoiners Should Be Catholic

With skepticism and moral relativism more prevalent than ever, it's unsurprising that people are inclined to think one's religion has the same level of importance as a favorite sports team. However, everything in life is ordered toward a highest intrinsic good. It is vital to acknowledge what that good is. The Catholic deposit of faith supports principles Bitcoiners cherish, agreeing on what is truly good.

We believe in objective truth.

A signature is valid, or it's not; a transaction is confirmed or not; a block is accepted or not. These are the fundamental objective truths that form the basis of Bitcoin. These truths are not subjective to personal judgment or the whims of politicians. Grounded in mathematics, Bitcoin takes its form in the objective reality of the universe. Yet, many people today don't believe there are objective truths, or at least, if there are objective truths, they think we can't know what they are. However, it is contradictory to say it is true that there is no truth. Objective truth describes reality, so it is true or false for everyone. Since religion, properly understood, describes reality, its central claims are objective and can be investigated. Any religion worth pursuing puts objective truth in the middle of its dogmas. Catholics believe “Man tends by nature toward the truth.” (CCC 2467) Central to the Christian claim is that God is the truth: “I am the way and the truth and the life” (John 14:6). Bitcoiners are some of the only people in our secular world who understand objective truth.

We believe in solidarity.

A society maintains a proper monetary order when the hardest money becomes the only money (Copernicus-Gresham's Law). Furthermore, Bitcoin is a consensus protocol. The network rules bind every participant together, and we all share in the fruits of the network. Users, miners, and developers depend on each other to maintain the network's health. Similarly, the Church teaches all creation orders toward solidarity: "Interdependence must be transformed into solidarity, based upon the principle that the goods of creation are meant for all." (Sollicitudo rei Socialis 39) Humans are social animals who flourish in a community bound together toward common objectives. Bitcoiners intuitively grasp this fundamental Catholic social teaching.

We believe in subsidiarity.

While the Bitcoin network is a shared resource for the common good, it is not a collectivist enterprise. Not your keys, not your coins, flows from the ethic of subsidiarity: “A community of a higher order should not interfere in the internal life of a community of a lower order, depriving the latter of its functions, but rather should support it in case of need and help to coordinate its activity with the activities of the rest of society, always with a view to the common good.” (Centesimus annus 48) Fiat currencies have perverted this principle by introducing the unnatural institution of the central bank. Bitcoin rightly reorders money management back to the lowest level of society: the family, who can hold their keys to save, earn, spend, and invest their own money with sovereignty. Finally, “the principle of subsidiarity is opposed to all forms of collectivism. It sets limits for state intervention. It aims at harmonizing the relationships between individuals and societies. It tends toward the establishment of true international order.” (CCC 1885) Bitcoiners understand the proper international order Catholics have been discussing for centuries and are working toward making it a reality.

Bitcoiners should discern the Catholic faith to deepen their understanding of these principles that resonate deeply with the ethos of Bitcoin. Catholicism offers more than a belief system. It provides a path to spiritual fulfillment and a community grounded in timeless truths, with teachings that will always be true, like the immutable ledgers we keep on our full nodes. Joining the Catholic Church means embracing a tradition that stands the test of time and offers profound purpose and social cohesion in accordance with the eternal law. Join our journey to seek the truth.

I wouldn’t say I “study” postmodernism, but I’m aware of it and how it shows up in the world. Haven’t heard the address.

Here’s how to get to truth (or close to it) in the Information Age.

- learn how to think broadly

- reason from first principles

- take in information from multiple competing sources

- go direct to source to find information if possible

- employ occham’s/hanlon’s razor

- put aside personal bias

- consider what is likely true and not what you would like to be true

- don’t be afraid to switch your stance

- don’t be afraid of negative social consequences

- be prepared to be incorrect