Went to our local #Bitcoin #Meetup last night. Some great conversation but some terrible news for one of the members who was scammed out of several Bitcoin in a pretty sophisticated social engineering attack a couple of weeks back. We discussed ways we might act as an emergency support resource (aka Panic Button) for members to call and get a second opinion whenever something like that is going on and *before* making an irrevocable decision.
Also discussed splitting off a #BitcoinMerchant group to discuss and explore the many options and obstacles in accepting and integrating Bitcoin and Lightning payments into existing businesses.
Last item was setting up small mining ops with BitAxe. In between were discussions on Texas history, musicians, weirdest places we've been and other stuff. Good group.
From Texas with love thanks to one of my favorite rifle MFGs.
#gunstr
Many sources are saying high prices and spotty supplies are coming. If you live in a free State you should stock up.
#gunstr
For the most part, they just need to dry out. I've dunked phones which took 48-72 hours to dry and then performed normally. The dry rice thing might help, as might any other sort of dessicant packet.
NYC showing everyone the way forward for bureaucrat-controlled citizenship
https://www.ammoland.com/2024/09/thug-life-in-nyc-is-looking-up-the-rest-of-us-can-hurry-up-wait/
#gunstr
Attending a wake for a friend - not a close friend, but the kind of person who has been in and out of your life in positive ways many times over the years. Lots of people from my own past, good memories, good stories.
I don't think I've heard of Logseq before. I was a fan of outliners for many years, all the way back to Dave Winer's OPML editor. In my corporate white paper writing days I worked almost exclusively in MSWord's outline mode for the first draft or two.
I will say it looks interesting. I will go thru the docs. What are you using to sync between devices (if you are doing that)? I'm using #SyncThing with Obsidian, which has worked fine for my needs.
The struggle is real. The challenge with any communication method is that if few or none of those with whom you communicate will use it, it has no value Being by yourself on the most secure, censorship-resistant island in the world is useless.
This is not a generational problem. It is pervasive. I am a #Boomer, yet I have been a #privacy advocate for more than 20 years. I have used PGP, XMPP, Signal, the original WhatsApp, etc over the years. I never succeeded in getting even 10% of my family, friends and close associates to adopt any of these tools, much less more than one. It has taken a decade to just get all the members of my immediate family onto an encrypted platform for messaging. And the holdouts were not the old folks.
This seems like a serious problem to me, and I have no idea how to solve it.
This is very unfortunate. Michael Bazzle does, IMO, great work and puts out great products. I have purchased many of them. It is a shame that we, as a culture, seem to have lost respect for the hard work people do in creating products for sale. The end result of an "everything should be free" attitude is that we lose access to valuable, specialized information which people are simply unwilling to provide for free.
People should be able to choose whether the product of their efforts is free or not. We should respect that choice. This is not the same as saying we should accept abusive surveillance and advertising from giant corporations which take the work of creators for free and then pay the creators pennies on the dollar for ad revenue.
The former is a direct relationship with the creator. The latter is an abusive, parasitic intermediation scam.
#privacy
https://inteltechniques.com/blog/2024/09/12/major-books-update/
Even though I tried to keep up with the case as it happened, there is a lot I do not know. I listened to Taylor tell his side of the story on a couple of podcasts. Like most everyone else I had to read news stories to get the NY side of the story and I cannot know how much of that was accurate. But it did seem to be an overt statement by the State that the exercise of Constitutionally guaranteed, individual rights won't be tolerated if the State finds them inconvenient.
#amber is very cool. I like it.
I made small progress today. I installed Amber and used it to sign into #0xChat and #Amethyst. I haven't figured out how to *use* #0xChat yet, but that's a different task.
All the tools of Liberty can as easily be applied for evil. But if we give up the tools of Liberty on the promise that evil will be prevented, all we will truly prevent is Liberty. For evil never gives up its tools, never gives up its numbers, or its advantage. Only the gullible give up the tools used to protect Liberty because someone says they are used for evil.
https://krebsonsecurity.com/2024/09/the-dark-nexus-between-harm-groups-and-the-com/
Today, prior to class, I shot my 3" Springfield Hellcat with factory iron sights at an NRA B8 center target from 25 yards. I fired a single 5-rd string from a standing position, no timer. I scored an X-ring, a 10-ring and an 8-ring (at 3 o'clock), then I dropped two shots about 6" low at 6 o'clock. This was "cold," meaning I did not do any warmup and I had not been to the range for a week. I just drew the gun and fired the string at a comfortable pace (maybe 3-4 seconds/shot.)
It is tough to keep a 3" barrel on target at distance. The slightest movement during the trigger press makes a significant change in trajectory. Even 3/4" of additional barrel length make a noticeable difference in my accuracy at that distance.
I really admire people who can shoot the small guns at distance. Few things test your technique more than stretching out your shooting distance with a short-barreled handgun.
#gunstr
#privacy has many layers. There are many levels. For those who focus on privacy it is a lifestyle, which often requires tradeoffs and compromises. It is like #Bitcoin in that it should be held in #selfcustody. There are no trustworthy privacy custodians. We are personally responsible. Vitor gives us a thoughtful example.
I use #Obsidian. I used evernote briefly about a decade ago. When I decided to get my information out and use something else I found the export and conversion process frustrating. It was not something I wanted to repeat.
Now my notes are in Markdown and I can access them in Obsidian or anything else I want. Obsidian's linking and graphing add value while leaving the notes accessible to other tools. There is an Obsidian plugin for posting notes directly to #nostr. I have not tried it yet.
Whatever tool you choose, I suggest ensuring your notes are maintained in an open, accessible format.
Today we ran our monthly Texas License to Carry Shooting Proficiency class. This is the Texas Dept of Public Safety course of fire required for LTC applicants.
One applicant brought a Ruger SR22 4.5" - a nice double action, small-caliber semi-auto. I have an older 3.5" model I like and which I use for practice from time to time.
Unfortunately, the student's gun was quite dirty, and the ammo was inexpensive Federal white box .22lr purchased at a big box store. The gun suffered failure-to-feed and failure-to-extract from the outset. We did not get through 10 rounds of the class. The gun malfunctioned repeatedly and, ultimately, got a case stuck in the chamber bad enough that it could not be removed without tools.
The lesson is that, to function reliably, rimfire pistols must be kept clean and properly lubricated. In addition, the ammunition must be of high quality and must be "high velocity." Lower-powered ammo does not provide enough force to reliably cycle the action. A dirty, poorly lubricated gun requires more force to cycle than a clean, well-oiled gun. The combination makes for trouble.
So clean and lubricate your gun before you take it to a class. Purchase good quality ammunition. If you have questions about either, contact your instructer before class.
Fortunately, the student was able to complete the course when another student (the two were complete strangers) offered up their own gun and ammunition and we ran the class in relays so they could swap out. This worked out great, as the student was very safe and an excellent shot - scored 98% on the course.
It has been our experience over the years that "gun people" are good people. Getting to meet them, and helping to create new ones, is the best part of our job.
#gunstr #goodpeople
#GM #nostr. What a great working weekend we had here. Taking Monday morning off with some cowboy coffee. 