saylor says bitcoin does not compete with the dollar

dorsey says nostr does not compete with x

same energy

My Nostr post from two years ago where I criticized Elon (which was probably the only time I ever lost my temper online, being actively censored, and still stand by it) is getting a lot of new replies lately. People agreeing or disagreeing, etc.

It seems to be an influx of users, rather than a resurgence of the post itself.

Noting this because it’s statistically interesting.

anyone live in switzerland and can speak to it’s government?

“entertainment media”

is the majority of our media today

Are there still places with vibes anymore? Or did the internet kind of kill it?

I feel like digital spaces have vibes. Nostr has a vibe for sure, but everywhere I go (in America at least) feels flat, steril and homogenous now.

People like to pretend otherwise, romanticizing local charm and it’s fun to do so, but in reality there is no meaningful difference between New York, LA, Chicago, Austin, Miami etc…

The differences feel increasingly superficial. Miami with its neon pink and bad Latin art. New York with its identical minimalist cafes selling identical oat lattes. These aren’t cities anymore, they’re brands. “Keep Austin Weird” feels less like the rallying cry of a bohemian collective and more like a safe corporate brand slogan.

It wasn’t always like this. Cities used to incubate true subcultures that couldn’t thrive anywhere else. Seattle once had grunge music emerging organically from local clubs, distinct in sound and attitude. Detroit was a birthplace for techno and industrial grit that couldn’t have been manufactured. New Orleans had jazz clubs and vibrant local traditions that permeated every street corner authentically. Before the internet collapsed distances, you could sense deep authenticity upon arriving somewhere new. The vibe wasn’t something designed by marketing departments; it was organically woven into the streets, the people, the music, and local myths.

Now, vibes feel engineered and commoditized, reduced to Instagrammable moments and easily replicable aesthetics. I once watched from the balcony of my hotel in Nashville as 200 women waited in line to take the same stupid picture with the same stupid set of angel wings.

Digital spaces, ironically, have become refuges of uniqueness, fostering communities unburdened by geographical homogenization. Platforms like nostr host unique niche communities, from hyper-specific gaming bitcoin cultural milieu to obscure philosophical discussions, that retain genuinely distinctive vibes.

Perhaps we’re now entering a strange inversion, where real-world spaces chase digital popularity, adopting blandness to maximize broad appeal.

In this inversion, digital worlds might become the primary spaces where unique vibes survive, thrive, and multiply—leaving our physical world as little more than a flattened reflection of what used to be.

Nostr is where the vibes are at.

Exactly 4 years ago today, I sat in a company-wide meeting with a "crypto expert."

He said Bitcoin was useless beyond being digital gold — and some random altcoin called Polkadot was the future. Everyone thanked him for his wisdom. We were supposed to learn from "industry experts" to keep up with trends as early-stage venture investors.

I started digging deeper into Bitcoin and calling out altcoins as scams.

A senior partner pulled me aside and tore me down:

"Are we done here?"

"You have no track record."

"Your conviction is like a religious belief."

"You're being irrational and ideological."

He laughed when I said maybe the financial system is broken. From his perspective, he couldn’t see it — because he was making a fortune pumping startups that barely existed. The irony was lost on him: the very fact that so much money was being thrown at vaporware proved just how broken the system was.

Another partner called me a spruiker — said I was trying to pump my own Bitcoin bag to get rich and dump it on others.

It was hard to hold steady when surrounded by people who benefit from the status quo.

That day, I wrote in my journal: "As of today, I've decided to leave [this company]."

Four years later, Polkadot is down 90% against Bitcoin. And it’s been the best four years of my life.

(Btw, I use a journalling app called Journey that reminds me of what I wrote x years ago today, it's useful for reflecting)

as trust continues to erode in the centralized institutions our societies rely on, bitcoin and nostr represent a strong alternative to reduce the chaos of an inevitable collapse

ironically, bitcoiners will be scapegoated, we will likely be blamed for the sins of others - hope for the best, plan for the worst

"NOSTR USERS SHOULD POST ON X INSTEAD. WE GET SO MUCH MORE REACH."

2 💬 4❤️ 1 🔄

No random actions, none not based on underlying principles.

– MA

"Remember how long you’ve been putting this off, how many extensions the gods gave you, and you didn’t use them. At some point you have to recognize what world it is that you belong to; what power rules it and from what source you spring; that there is a limit to the time assigned to you, and if you don’t use it to free yourself it will be gone and will never return."

Marcus Aurelius

read philosophy, study the universe, experience love, and die

Meanwhile, on TwiXter:

If I'm reading this right, having a whole Bitcoin will sterilize you? Or kill your children?

Maybe I should unretire Shit Bitcoiners Say...