What percentage of people that hold bitcoin will self-custody it 15 years from now, do you think?

I have never had less faith in our political parties and leaders than I do now

I have never had more belief that they will do whatever they can to hold on to power, their order, and continue wars both domestic and abroad

The system is entirely broken and beyond repair. Many hoped Obama would create a new path, or Bernie, or for some even Trump. That didn’t happen.

We as Americans must choose a new path forward. What tools will we use? How will we come together to seek truth and collaboration? How will we upend power from the 1%, and return power to the people and overcome political dogma?

Is there a way?

Every year, I spend 1-2 months living in Egypt. This is because my husband is originally from Egypt, his family is much larger than mine, and so while our economic base is in the US, our social base is actually in Egypt. I thus became multinational many years ago.

However, my husband spends 3-4 months each year in Egypt, while I only spend 1-2 months there. So, there are 1-2 months where I’m in the US alone. The reason I choose to do this is to look after the household and business, and because I’m not as productive in Egypt (inconsistent internet, less optimal workstation, way more social pressures, and so forth).

In some ways, we find that spending some time apart strengthens our relationship and lets us focus on our separate things for part of the year. And when we meet after 1-2 months, it’s such a great reunion. We find ourselves wanting to catch up on so much and spend extra time together. But also, even though in some ways I look forward to having time alone and indeed get a lot done during that time, I immediately regret it once I am alone. I find myself constantly looking forward to going to Egypt, as I am now. During these periods, I end up posting more on social media, either constructively or non-constructively, in what tends to be a replacement for diminished in-person contact.

This seems to be amplified by my work situation. When I was an engineer, I worked with colleagues in person each day, but now that I work from home, my colleagues are virtual and I meet them in person only at major events. So, this relatively brief window each year of being in a different place than my husband tends to be oddly monk-like, with me at home alone 24 hours per day, working and living and doing whatever I do. I think one of my future goals will be to increase my deliberate effort at spending time with local friends, especially during this part of the year.

Anyway, I’m doing a series of “real thoughts” uniquely on Nostr, and this is the first one.

Conclusion: Social circles are (obviously) a very important thing, including for workaholics and introverts like myself. Social circles affect us in various ways, and having gone through many cycles, I have become increasingly aware of the changes that take place during these seasonal cycles of being close to others vs far from others.

99% of people that “own” gold & silver will never touch anything but a wedding ring or necklace.

Over the next five years, what do you think the chances are that talking about inflation or energy will be censored on centralized social media platforms comparatively to what happened with the pandemic during 2020/2021?

The majority of traders, and overseers of the broader financial layer in general, don't care too much about underlying fundamentals. Instead, they focus on market structure and want to trade digital pieces of paper within a multi-week window.

As such, many of them look at "blockchain technology" and ask "how can this improve trading settlement times from three days to a few hours?" That's why a lot of Wall St people are into "crypto". They view it as a better set of procedures for fiat settlement.

Very few are interested in changing the underlying money. Few know what money is. This remains a niche focus, of which I'm all in.

It is fascinating to see the change in the behaviour of participants at the Munich Security Conference.

In 2022, the participants were positively salivating and giddy at the prospects of a war in Ukraine and the subsequent inevitable defeat and humiliation of Russia. They had built up the Ukrainian military over the previous 8 years, to the point that it was arguably the most powerful military in NATO after the U.S., and there were strong layered defences facing the East. Russia's Soviet era military didn't stand a chance.

This year, there was fear in their eyes.

Went to a couple of Estate Sales today, spent a couple hours walking around pretty elaborate houses looking at folks possessions that are no longer with us…and I kept thinking…one day folks will be doing this at my house! What a weird day.

But I did find a pretty sweet gold inlay cranberry glass tea set from 1972 that was bought in Venice, with a 19” silver platter, for only $90!

So, I’ll get over the weirdness! 🤣😂