welcome new nostriches!

1. how did you find out about nostr?

2. what are you hoping to find here?

3. can i help with anything?

There is a real lack of understanding in just how fucked up the algos are, and how much power we gain in not being manipulated by them. We could be using the internet to do something extraordinary, and instead it is being used primarily to sell us shit and keep us scared. The whole of humanity is being fed lies and distortions through centralized social media that is designed to keep everyone asleep and unaware of their real power.

Now that there is no longer gatekeepers to what can be said to a global audience we have the power to shape a real unadulterated narrative; also known as the truth. The power of censorship to have molded a false global narrative is one of the pillars of the power structure that keep people divided over petty and impractical differences that can now be shown for what they are: manipulation tactics through the algos to keep everyone disempowered. We now have the ability to reclaim our voices in a way that no one can stomp out. What is to come and the changes that are to be ushered in will surprise all of us in the most remarkable of ways.

Been here for a day, made 2 posts, and already have more engagement than I’ve had in Twitter for years… liking it… #grownostr #plebchain

Oh yeah I did

I literally ordered pizza through Nostr, mainly just to see if I could do a Nostr equivalent of Laszlo’s pizza buy, but also to test a near worst-case doomsday scenario.

I would say… Very useful.

I was just walking down the street, coffee in hand, suddenly realizing how "normal" it all is already. Like most days, I went to a coffee shop that accepts lightning. Like most days, I paid directly with sats that someone zapped me here on nostr. Like most days, neither the merchant nor myself thought twice about it, or took a minute to marvel at what just happened.

So, allow me to do just that. Marvel at what just happened. While everyone is having a fantastically crazy time at #nostriga, uncountable people are using bitcoin in a myriad of ways. Some for savings, large and small; some for transactions, large and small; some for other stuff. Bitcoin is slowly but surely entering the world stage. Some commentators will tell you that this is good. Some commentators will tell you that this is bad. Whatever the case may be, it is unavoidable.

I see nostr under a similar light. As platform-based manipulation and censorship ramps up—which it inevitably will—the usage of nostr will ramp up too, and with it the usage of zaps and everything else that comes with it. And soon enough, buying a coffee (or breakfast, lunch, and dinner) with zap-based income will be normal. Just like it's "normal" to be an "influencer" today, or a "YouTuber" or whatnot... It's not everyone's cup of tea, but it's a normal thing. Anyone can do it.

Back to my coffee. I remember when I had the "oh my god, I can live on bitcoin here!!!" experience for the first time. It was in Bitcoin Jungle, a couple of months after the initiative was launched. I stayed there for 2 weeks or so, buying the necessities of daily life with sats outright. And it worked. Flawlessly. I had zero payment failures, and was exclusively using Zeus with my own node. It was incredible.

Why is this incredible, you ask? Shouldn't stuff just work? Yes, it should. But building out the tech and the infrastructure to make it all work is BLOODY HARD. I remember the first Lightning Conference in Berlin, in 2019. Everyone came, everyone had all their channels and wallets and everything prepared, and ~50% of payments failed. For... reasons.

Fast-forward to today: I go to one of the 100+ merchants in the city that accept bitcoin, a quick tap on the PoS device & QR code scan, boom, done. Is it always perfect? Of course not. Will it get better still? 100% it will. Very soon these merchants will have NFC-enabled devices, and the tap-to-pay experience that people are used to with cards & Apple pay will be normal for bitcoin payments too. If you are in Riga right now, you'll experience this first-hand thanks to Bolt cards and BTCPay Server. It's awesome, it's open-source, and it works. And it will get better still.

We are truly living in the best and weirdest timeline; a timeline where shitposting on the internet can buy you lunch and dinner; a timeline that spawns amazing technological movements like #nostr; a timeline that, every ~10 minutes, allows for a small miracle to happen. A timeline where "magic internet money" is a normal thing; a timeline that, thanks to the magic dust of cryptography, enables anyone to speak about anything, without having to ask for permission. I'm grateful.

Thank you, Satoshi. 🙏🧡

Let me be clear. If Kamala Harris somehow forces a 25% unrealized capital gains tax, the flight of capital out and subsequent collapse of the US markets would be absolutely breathtaking. And the ultimate result would be far lower tax revenues than we have right now.

Hey #nostr, what’s driving new user growth right now? What’s your guess?

I will simply never vote for a candidate who proposes taxing unrealized gains.

On this issue I think slippery slope arguments are valid and historically grounded.

I also think it betrays a fundamental lack of understanding and economic illiteracy.

More troublingly, it indicates a perspective on the relationship between government and citizen that I think is anti-American. nostr:note1n5feqtv6nd4lvcrufnjvpdzaer2lv7cf07v38th6zlkzpt0w3e6qcej3vk