Nostr Web Client

Benjamin Chodroff 8mo ago

Building an offline map of Shanghai for ATAK using MOBAC. Just in case…

Replying to

DarthCoin ₿⚡️

https://r2.primal.net/uploads/d/9a/a0/d9aa09f61c81c91b5fe98a16ff5e8ecf40726940e111906a69dc93923e4d3154.mp4

Benjamin Chodroff 8mo ago

All part of the learning process

Replying to

BitcoinSandy

I’ve not witnessed this level of international discombobulation in my lifetime, there’s some big plays going on. Strap in

Benjamin Chodroff 8mo ago

Front row seats to watch the storm.

Replying to

Peter Alexander

Actually agree wholeheartedly with what’s you’ve laid out here. My focus is just on the world as it actually is rather than what one might wish it to be.

I view the steps being taken by the Trump team as being actually correct in terms of the intent. Execution is a whole other issue.

Still, the larger issue is that such action by America needed to be taken on China roughly 15 years ago and didn’t. Now it’s a negotiation where America is fiscally bankrupt and sources virtually everything from China. That boat will take years to turn around.

Thank you though for the comment. We are all here to learn. All of us.

Benjamin Chodroff 8mo ago

Turning this boat around by private markets and policy should have happened 15 years ago when U.S. had much more leverage. I hope cooler heads prevail. The tariffs are blunt and painful, but I’m more worried about acts of aggression that cause me to use the bug-out bag I stocked last weekend. I can tolerate pandemic lockdowns, but kinetic action: nope. I hope I am just paranoid.

Replying to

Peter Alexander

Here is another variable that doesn’t get enough attention.

America demands that China address its massive trade surplus. Ok, but what is it that America exports?

If you look into the official data, officially the largest exports out of America in 2024 are civilian aircraft parts ($123bn) and oil ($118bn).

Not included in the “official data” is the exports of weapon systems. For 2024 that totaled $319bn. Nearly triple the official top two categories. Great article on this provided below.

So, China has said it is open to addressing the trade issue, but America policy won’t be selling weapon systems to China. Moreover, basically everything that China does want to be from America is disallowed under “national security”. Can’t buy Nvidia chips, as example.

https://aje.io/lfiawn

Benjamin Chodroff 8mo ago

USA exports services (FAANG et all) are all blocked by China. I’m not a fan of the way Trump is conducting this “negotiation” but I do think that there are legitimate reasons that the USA needs to make a legitimate change, especially with countries that have no interest in a symbiotic relationship. The debt in the USA is not going to be sustainable especially in the face of Bitcoin, and we should be using suppliers that wish to work with us and our services — my humble opinion, but eager to hear and learn from what others think.

Benjamin Chodroff 8mo ago

Looking forward to seeing the federal reserve release their m2 data on 4/22.

Replying to

corndalorian

Nostr is the best social network I’ve ever been part of.

Benjamin Chodroff 9mo ago

It’s got that feeling, yeah

Replying to

Cyph3rp9nk

And we are already up to $90 million dollars mixed by Lazarus in Wasabi, I think it is by far the largest amount in fiduciary terms commingled in a coordinator.

Many will sell you that coinjoin doesn't work and so on, that shitcoins are better and so on....

Look at the facts not the words.

Benjamin Chodroff 9mo ago

CoinJoin in btcpay server works great… and for those doing it with legally acquired coins, it’s your right to use any privacy enhancing technology. I have no love for Lazarus or any nation state funded attackers who go after peaceful civilian targets. I have no ill will to any honest North Koreans, and imagine most are.

Replying to

BankSith

Are you still allowed to say ESG out loud on the trading floor in the bank? Asking for a friend.

Benjamin Chodroff 9mo ago

I’m not against all aspects of ESG, but many should have taken a bit more understanding on what is Bitcoin… many did not. Sad.

Benjamin Chodroff 9mo ago

When troubleshooting IT issues in China, it’s a pain that DNS poisoning from the GFW is often the problem. Solving normal IT issues turns into defending against an entire nation state funded army.

Got my bitcoin lightning node back online.

Replying to

xiangcai

I'm very pessimistic that American people and Chinese people would come to a common ground to view each other apart from the bullshits their government or Media is feeding them🥲

Benjamin Chodroff 9mo ago

Agree… it’s a bad situation given the lack of honest dialogue

Replying to

xiangcai

I'm a Chinese, i don't give a fuck about the grant number comparisons between China and US and the tariff childish number games right now, good or bad or ugly. None of macro stuff is my business.

But a humble human can always easily recognize the very apparent history patterns. Just think it in a thermal dynamics perspective- how many hours do an American work? you know that actual figure for an average Chinese? I can't tell you a real statistical one but let me tell you my subjective experience, every middle class in the major cities are working their shitting ass off like over 70h to keep off the existence anxiety, paying off mortgages or competing in raising their children. Most of them are not enjoying life even in the modern cyberpunk world where you have every fancy technology that you can't even imagine 10 years ago, the job is to exist.

If it's already too difficult for you as a free world citizen to comprehensive, here's more that blows your mind-

nobody blames the government.

nobody is fucking blaming the government.

nobody is fucking blaming the fucking government.

Again, it's not statistical, it's just observations from me as a Chinese who's parents is still living in one of the poorest rural areas of China. Oh yeah, a Chinese peasant.

So what do i wanna say? China is a very low entropy system because of the unimaginable extra energy of Chinese working classes put into it either willingly or unwillingly.

What you think??

Benjamin Chodroff 9mo ago

The U.S. and China are not aligned in values for many years, and this is an issue coming to a head. The USA will value individual freedoms even over cheap labor and goods. Unfortunately this is going to come at a great cost to both USA and China, but I hope somehow the people work to resolve their different government views. It won’t be a government that leads unification. Both China and USA people believe in proof of work more than proof of war, but there are hawks in our government who would rather obstruct and destroy than build.

Replying to

Gigi

a new era of procrastination has begun

Benjamin Chodroff 9mo ago

Cool. What model and rig specs are you using?

Replying to

Ava

For some time now, I have been looking for high-quality, heavy-gague stainless steel food trays, similar to the ones I ate off of during my months at the Sikh Gurdwara in Seattle. I finally found them from a well-established brand in India called Sumeet. I ordered six for the van. My first four arrived today, and I am very pleased with the size (~13 in), weight, and quality.

Since 1537, volunteers at the Golden Temple (Gurdwara) prepare and serve free vegetarian meals (langar) to 50,000–100,000+ people daily, 24/7, without discrimination. All are welcome regardless of religion, gender, or ethnicity. Everyone eats together on the floor—a practice where even dignitaries sit alongside laborers—to embody Sikhism’s principle of equality.

This tradition is sustained by over 5,000 volunteers working round the clock. Daily preparation includes:

12,000 kg of wheat flour (for chapatis)

13,000 kg of lentils (dal)

2,000 kg of seasonal vegetables

1,500 kg of rice

5,000 liters of milk (for kheer pudding)

50,000+ handmade chapatis

The meals are strictly vegetarian, adhering to Sikh principles of inclusivity, and feature dishes like spiced lentils, vegetable curries, and rice

👀🔊🙏🏻