Tomorrow, January 4th, the verdict in Julian Assange's extradition trial will be delivered, and honestly, I can't bring myself to think that today we are celebrating the birth of the key to humanity's freedom and tomorrow, a man who did nothing wrong and has been deprived of his freedom may be stripped away of all his human rights.
I've been thinking a lot about this, especially after chatting with @Stella and John Shipton last year. They really opened my eyes to how messed up this whole situation is. If you're curious, check out our full talk here: https://youtu.be/ugeDIda5Zac
I hope tomorrow's verdict brings Julian closer to being freed and back with his family. But this isn't the end of the road for Assange. His final appeal in London's High Court is set for February. This could be his last chance to avoid extradition to the United States, where he faces serious charges. This moment is key, not just for Assange but for journalism and civil liberties worldwide.
If you're in the US, this is your call to action. Hit up your congressperson. Tell them to push Biden to drop all charges against Assange. Your voice can make a difference.
With this, I want to say that even though I'm totally blown away and super thankful for Bitcoin turning 15 today, it's tough to really get into the party mood. Knowing there are so many freedom fighters out there getting their wings clipped, it hits hard... We could be next...
Today isn't just about partying and celebrating for me. Today, I'm all about standing up to the establishment, reminding them they can't shut us down. We've got to keep fighting every single day, but especially on days like today, especially every January 3rd.
Assange always makes me think about the fact lies are so much easier than truths.
give everything, ask for nothing
🤐
For all the merchants looking to accept Lightning in their nostr:npub155m2k8ml8sqn8w4dhh689vdv0t2twa8dgvkpnzfggxf4wfughjsq2cdcvg stores, I highly recommend checking out this newly launched plugin from nostr:npub13ljnkd633c7maxatymv3y2fqq8vt3qk7j3tt0vytv90eztwgha9qmfcfhw!
This is a HUGE deal - once you have Blink account and tie it through Lightning connection, not only can you seamlessly accept payments without worrying about channel management and liquidity, but you also have the option to hedge in StableSats USD.
Here's a trailer showcasing the plugin in action:
And then blog post on Blink's website explains all the details of setup and vision behind plugin: https://www.blink.sv/blog/introducing-the-blink-plugin-for-btcpay-server
So far in my own testing everything is working very smoothly; I'll continue to explore and play with the tech, as this has absolute potential for use in all my merchant setups and workshops at the conferences.
Finally - h/t to nostr:npub1y24gz5gwucl79vtv4ctwpysl0r5m4xyzu2rgulnr44ks3t5mt92q4nz2ad who is the coding powerhouse behind the plugin. It's all FOSS, so check out git repo on: https://github.com/Kukks/BTCPayServerPlugins/tree/master/Plugins/BTCPayServer.Plugins.Blink
nostr:npub14tq8m9ggnnn2muytj9tdg0q6f26ef3snpd7ukyhvrxgq33vpnghs8shy62 hitting it with "I CONTROL SATS" setup
For all the merchants looking to accept Lightning in their nostr:npub155m2k8ml8sqn8w4dhh689vdv0t2twa8dgvkpnzfggxf4wfughjsq2cdcvg stores, I highly recommend checking out this newly launched plugin from nostr:npub13ljnkd633c7maxatymv3y2fqq8vt3qk7j3tt0vytv90eztwgha9qmfcfhw!
This is a HUGE deal - once you have Blink account and tie it through Lightning connection, not only can you seamlessly accept payments without worrying about channel management and liquidity, but you also have the option to hedge in StableSats USD.
Here's a trailer showcasing the plugin in action:
And then blog post on Blink's website explains all the details of setup and vision behind plugin: https://www.blink.sv/blog/introducing-the-blink-plugin-for-btcpay-server
So far in my own testing everything is working very smoothly; I'll continue to explore and play with the tech, as this has absolute potential for use in all my merchant setups and workshops at the conferences.
Finally - h/t to nostr:npub1y24gz5gwucl79vtv4ctwpysl0r5m4xyzu2rgulnr44ks3t5mt92q4nz2ad who is the coding powerhouse behind the plugin. It's all FOSS, so check out git repo on: https://github.com/Kukks/BTCPayServerPlugins/tree/master/Plugins/BTCPayServer.Plugins.Blink
nostr:npub155m2k8ml8sqn8w4dhh689vdv0t2twa8dgvkpnzfggxf4wfughjsq2cdcvg 💚🧡💜
https://v.nostr.build/Vd5G.mp4#m=video%2Fmp4&dim=960x320&blurhash=Q56ABy.gHhV%7D%25cxsrMY%3DMgNaIqKttiMNIVXhQrU%7EQFQEpCy*sCWmlgSzM%7D&x=c20cc5914b9ce1801988871456d2512affdb27e87fd0f6dee5f19ad5a80a6409 nostr:npub1j8y6tcdfw3q3f3h794s6un0gyc5742s0k5h5s2yqj0r70cpklqeqjavrvg nostr:npub1zfytz6ktce3av2svlfpl0e79e44tnskxmvlpkcmc7q0xct3qa49swvm60l nostr:npub19n6xrj98sjp20pq7vkhq5nsr4y0777dh4w52dvhzph954kt4sgxsxwel56 nostr:npub1za04drthlvxtwsq0phwc4mgh8rxhjafjkv2w7pf6ze5afka8gvaquadur3 nostr:npub14j7wc366rf8efqvnnm8m68pazy04kkj8fgu6uqumh3eqlhfst0kqrngtpf nostr:npub1z4m7gkva6yxgvdyclc7zp0vz4ta0s2d9jh8g83w03tp5vdf3kzdsxana6p 💚
wow
I remember similar moment in like year 17... realized that I will never see myself as "a good developer".
Top 2% on Stackoverflow, coded multiple startups fully by myself, had years where I would literally code every day... and I would still fall victim to like "oh, but I'm not good at evaluating this random project in TypeScript, am I really a good dev".
Luckily, by that point it was already a year or so into this "Rockstar Developer" persona, so that started to take hold...
Yeah, this is exactly how it looks... Emperor nostr:npub1zfytz6ktce3av2svlfpl0e79e44tnskxmvlpkcmc7q0xct3qa49swvm60l designed it with rows of tables for us to code 😂
Thank you for your words of praise Marce... you're such a warrior for all of us that are blessed to know you 🫂
Reddit has all the answers https://www.reddit.com/r/CryptoTax/comments/w109oz/i_owe_12m_in_capital_gains_for_2021_and_lost/
I just want to say thanks for your commitment to wearing a mask all these years. You've saved lives!
My own first 🙏
Thanks for creating content on Nost, love to zap ⚡ what you create
And then these posts like the one below are just bonus
I have a lot of thoughts on the subject, considering my own developer journey over the last 20+ years in various settings around the world.
Ultimately, Damus is set up in such a way that it's all about what nostr:npub1xtscya34g58tk0z605fvr788k263gsu6cy9x0mhnm87echrgufzsevkk5s wants to do. I greatly admire what he has done, and I've told Will numerous times that I'm always there if he wants to talk and share experiences.
Regarding what I would say publicly, the most important point is: when you are contributing to FOSS, you're building a reputation, not compensation. You won't make nearly as much as you would if you chose traditional routes (fiat job, startup, VCs, etc.).
A critical side effect of this is that you need to take care of the reputation, self-actualization, and motivation of everyone involved. Managing a FOSS project is a heavy burden. Money is a very powerful tool, and the fact that every civilization that has scaled invented it is no coincidence. It allows you to remove a lot of variables. Beyond a certain point, you can only scale with money to maintain structure.
So, if I were in Damus, I'd prioritize the happiness and reputation of contributors over impact. The track record clearly shows that something great is being done, so I wouldn't worry too much about making it "greater." Instead, as long as the work continues to be meaningful for Will and others participating, that's all that matters.
If anyone is curious to explore the topic of "reputation over compensation", take a look at Advancing Bitcoin talk I gave back in March this year: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZUgQPR6ecuo
It depends. If you want less than two FTE devs on payroll the current rate that Will shared.
If you want to empower nostr:npub1xtscya34g58tk0z605fvr788k263gsu6cy9x0mhnm87echrgufzsevkk5s with a team of e.g. five (5) devs, maybe a designer, and throw jet fuel in the nostr kindle you can extrapolate.
There is an argument made that nostr is layer 3, and few devs have done more to grow BTC/LN that nostr:npub1xtscya34g58tk0z605fvr788k263gsu6cy9x0mhnm87echrgufzsevkk5s has with
1) the introduction of zaps
2) onboarding and educating of thousands to LN by way of nostr and an awesome user experience
nostr:npub10pensatlcfwktnvjjw2dtem38n6rvw8g6fv73h84cuacxn4c28eqyfn34f mission is to “support and maintain a sustainable ecosystem of funding for free and open-source projects and contributors, especially bitcoin-related projects and projects that help bitcoin flourish.”
“OpenSats provides funding for a variety of bitcoin-related projects, including:
Development of new bitcoin & bitcoin-adjacent software
Improvement of existing free and open-source software
Education and outreach about bitcoin
Research into bitcoin-related topics”
I would ask nostr:npub10pensatlcfwktnvjjw2dtem38n6rvw8g6fv73h84cuacxn4c28eqyfn34f if they have considered nostr:npub1xtscya34g58tk0z605fvr788k263gsu6cy9x0mhnm87echrgufzsevkk5s for long term support given his merit and contributions in a short amount of time.
Probably I am biased - it seems that team nostr and team BTC would want to keep nostr:npub1xtscya34g58tk0z605fvr788k263gsu6cy9x0mhnm87echrgufzsevkk5s not only onboard individually, but also empower him with a dev team to amplify his impact.
cc nostr:npub1j8y6tcdfw3q3f3h794s6un0gyc5742s0k5h5s2yqj0r70cpklqeqjavrvg
I have a lot of thoughts on the subject, considering my own developer journey over the last 20+ years in various settings around the world.
Ultimately, Damus is set up in such a way that it's all about what nostr:npub1xtscya34g58tk0z605fvr788k263gsu6cy9x0mhnm87echrgufzsevkk5s wants to do. I greatly admire what he has done, and I've told Will numerous times that I'm always there if he wants to talk and share experiences.
Regarding what I would say publicly, the most important point is: when you are contributing to FOSS, you're building a reputation, not compensation. You won't make nearly as much as you would if you chose traditional routes (fiat job, startup, VCs, etc.).
A critical side effect of this is that you need to take care of the reputation, self-actualization, and motivation of everyone involved. Managing a FOSS project is a heavy burden. Money is a very powerful tool, and the fact that every civilization that has scaled invented it is no coincidence. It allows you to remove a lot of variables. Beyond a certain point, you can only scale with money to maintain structure.
So, if I were in Damus, I'd prioritize the happiness and reputation of contributors over impact. The track record clearly shows that something great is being done, so I wouldn't worry too much about making it "greater." Instead, as long as the work continues to be meaningful for Will and others participating, that's all that matters.
