MADE AT LITTLE SURPRISE FOR YOU nostr:npub1qny3tkh0acurzla8x3zy4nhrjz5zd8l9sy9jys09umwng00manysew95gx 🧡🫂✨🤘!
Thanks that’s what I’ve found too. I read that the next StartOS release will allow clearnet access. This will be helpful for running mobile services. Of course with caveats re: privacy, security, etc.
That’s an important point. Bitcoin is only valuable so long as it’s moving. Tx fees will need to replace block rewards; this won’t happen if all BTC is locked up in cold storage. We need to focus more effort on developing payment technologies, not storage solutions.
> "Everything you do online is intermediated - your actions permissioned, your data custodied.
>
> Opt out by running a private server."
>
> — Start9
A few weeks back my personal server running StartOS crashed so, during the Christmas break, I had the opportunity to install Start9 and Umbrel multiple times until I settled on a more stable setup for my sovereign data.
I'm confident in my setup. Read more if you're interested in owning your own data.
> Not your keys **and your node**, not your coins.
---
## Personal server. Take 1
My first attempt at running a personal server burst into flames three weeks ago.
My mistake was to use an external SSD hard drive. Soon after getting the server up and running I realized that my setup was not ideal, but I kept myself in denial.
I got an [HP EliteDesk 800 G2](https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07J2TFW5T/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&th=1) with 8G of RAM and 240 GB internal SSD drive for $125 at Amazon. You need more than 240 GB to run a fully indexed Bitcoin node and I had an external 5TB SSD drive that I planned to use instead.
After tinkering a bit with the [BIOS](https://community.start9.com/t/hp-elitedesk-post-install-troubleshooting/889) and mounting the external drive, I got things up and running.
Unfortunately, Start9 doesn't support external hard drives. I was able to configure things up but whenever I rebooted my server, the external drive configuration got wiped out and I had to manually mount the drive again and re-start the Bitcoin node.
A month ago I updated the StartOS and after shutting down the server it never came back online.
nostr:note1w0sufyy6pc7g6rnqejqn8rsawr663e9zme80e2da2c8udcehte3sjkfcq9
As it turns out, the latest release of StartOS had closed the door to the settings I was using.
## Personal server. Take 2
Knowing that I could not use StartOS anymore, I tried Umbrel.
It was a bit confusing at first. I had to install Debian and then install Umbrel but the system worked well. Just a bit slow. After all, Umbrel runs as a virtual server within Debian.
The setup seemed to work fine except for one thing: I could not connect my iPhone to Vaultwarden, the password manager. And that was a deal breaker.
I use the Bitwarden app on my iPhone. The apps requires a secure https connection to the Vaultwarden server and the Vaultwarden implementation on Umbrel only offers http (it's either a local connection or a Tor connection).
> That is when I realized that I really like StartOS and that I needed a bigger internal SSD.
I bought a [2TB internal SSD drive](https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0BJ7MTT8M/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o03_s00?ie=UTF8&th=1) for $95 that is compatible with my server and reinstalled StartOS again.
StartOS runs smoothly if you work within the supported configurations. And I can't complain, after all, Start9 is offering their OS for free, for you to download and run on your own hardware even though they sell hardware as well.
## The results
I now have my server running again with the following software:
- Bitcoin Core: because you should run your own node
- electrs:
- I use it to connect the Sparrow wallet to my Bitcoin node
- It is also needed to run your own mempool instance
- Mempool: I can inspect transactions locally. No one needs to know which transactions I'm interested in
- Vaultwarden: my own password manager. Because LastPass is not an option anymore...
With this setup, I have full control of my own Bitcoin:
- Coldcard signing devices
- Sparrow wallet to send and receive Bitcoin
- Small memory card to maintain the airgap between my laptop running Sparrow and the Coldcards
- Sparrow connected to my own Bitcoin node so that I have full certainty on my transactions
> If you trust someone else's Bitcoin node to tell you that you now control an UTXO, do you really control that UTXO?
The next step is to install my own Nostr relay to permanently store my own notes.
I'm not ready yet to run a Lightning node on my server. I use Mutiny on my phone and so I do have my own node, in a way.
---
# Notable notes
nostr:note1x3cvetkkdr7zqahtpxr6yskjxt7tesz5zgh00yq4c5jhmaexp3zq7t9v07
---
# Recommendations
## Lyn Alden
We're tremendously lucky that Lyn shares her wisdom and knowledge with all of us. Like for example, the three rules of Bitcoin:
- The first rule of Bitcoin is you do not break Bitcoin.
- The second rule of Bitcoin is you do not break Bitcoin.
- The third rule of Bitcoin is you do not break Bitcoin.
You can follow her [here](nostr:npub1a2cww4kn9wqte4ry70vyfwqyqvpswksna27rtxd8vty6c74era8sdcw83a) and you should also consider buying her book [Broken Money](https://www.lynalden.com/broken-money/).
---
## What did you think of today's newsletter?
Your feedback helps me create the best newsletter possible for you.
Please leave a comment and checkout comments from other subscribers and readers. I love hearing from the Bitcoin For Families community ❤️ 🙏🏻
---
See you again next week!
— Alejandro
This newsletter is for educational purposes. It does not represent financial advice. Do your own research before buying Bitcoin.
Thanks for the post. I just set up a StartOS node with an HP Elitedesk last week. Does Vaultwarden run over Tor? I have trouble accessing tor services on iOS. It seems like the Orbot app is broken on iOS. Have you had any luck with it?
I use Bull Bitcoin but I think it’s only available in Canada. They’re part of the liquid federation. I custody L-BTC in the SideSwap app. I actually haven’t unpegged yet. I think you can do it in SideSwap. I’m interested to try boltz. I’ve used this note from nostr:npub14tq8m9ggnnn2muytj9tdg0q6f26ef3snpd7ukyhvrxgq33vpnghs8shy62 as reference. nostr:note168yea74xkw0jv2havtp74fwfjj0t8034vgd5exx0lx6959cmxrmse2yk6t
Can’t say I know, but I’ve been using it recently for regular buys. I build up some L-BTC there then unpeg for a single UTXO to consolidate and save fees. First time I’ve done this and I imagine I’m not the only one.
Welcome to #nostr!
I think zaps are a huge part of what makes nostr great. Definitely a win for #damus2023. nostr:note1fx2s4h4t7lew6wthq5usa8ckqjwjxv5v9p5l3wam5mjfjqlu7l5q3j8ce0
lol perfect engagement-farmer reply.
1. Miss the point of the original post.
2. Bring it back to a left vs right culture war.
If getting triggered on twitter makes you happy, go for it. Couldn’t be me.
Former twitter addicts coming to #nostr seek “engagement”. I don’t blame them. That’s the currency of twitter. The quality of your posts are judged by the likes, retweets, etc.
The problem is that this value measurement is highly distorted by algorithms. Algorithms determine how many people see your tweet. The tweets that are likely to get engagement are opinionated and potentially outrage-inducing.
Nostr has likes and reposts, but the key value metric is zaps. I’m unlikely to zap a post that makes me upset or is polarizing. I’m more likely to zap posts that are positive, helpful or useful. My hope is that this incentivizes more positive, helpful and useful posts. There may be less “engagement” but who cares about engagement when you’re receiving the purest form of value that there is?
I know zaps started as a fun feature from nostr:npub1xtscya34g58tk0z605fvr788k263gsu6cy9x0mhnm87echrgufzsevkk5s. At first, some viewed them as frivolous. But I think they are the key to a well-functioning social network. Make more of what you want to see. If you can’t make it, zap it. Incentivize others.
> "Ordinals are fiat. And inscriptions aren’t rare"
>
> — Southern Hands
Spending an outrageous amount of Bitcoin to own an specific satoshi is stupid and initially I just thought that if others want to do it, that's on them.
But with ordinals and inscriptions clogging the network and driving Bitcoin transaction fees through the roof, I came across this fantastic read by nostr:npub1h8nk2346qezka5cpm8jjh3yl5j88pf4ly2ptu7s6uu55wcfqy0wq36rpev of a Medium post by Southern Hands titled [Ordinals are Fiat. And Inscriptions aren’t Rare](https://medium.com/@southern_hands/ordinals-are-fiat-and-inscriptions-arent-rare-f1681b60facc) and I finally made my mind about them.
https://www.fountain.fm/episode/RRvB5Te4a1P8eXOO3LY6
> Inscriptions and Ordinals are absolute crap. A fool's errand.
---
## Ordinals
Ordinal theory numbers satoshi in a certain order as they get mined. Block #0 created satoshis 1 through 5,000,000,000; block #1 created satoshis 5,000,000,001 through 10,000,000,000 and so on.
You then track satoshis through UTXOs considering a First-In-First-Out logic.
When the UTXO becomes an input to a transaction, you count satoshis starting with Input 1, then Input 2 and transfer them to the outputs starting with Output 1, then Output 2, and so on.
Ordinals count from bottom to top. But what if I want to count from top to bottom?
**I hereby create SuperOrdinals.** The SuperOrdinals theory goes as follows:
- The last satoshi of the last input becomes the first satoshi of the first output.
- We count satoshis using Last-In-First-Out.
- Now an specific satoshi used in an input will land in a different output compared to regular Ordinal theory.
> "Ordinals are a method of, first, pretending that it makes sense for satoshis to have serial numbers, and second, stipulating a set of rules to put them in order so that we can count and assign those serial numbers. In other words, we number the satoshis by fiat."
If you're thinking that this is bogus, it's because it is. Ordinals are arbitrary and subjective. Some people have agreed to follow certain logic and apply it to the Bitcoin blockchain and that's it.
## Inscriptions
Inscriptions store JPGs in one of the fields of a transaction and are associated with an specific ordinal (numbered satoshi) of that transaction. Storing a JPG takes a lot of bytes and that is why fees are going up.
If you want to sell the inscription to somebody else, you just need to create a new transaction that is structured following the Ordinal theory so that the specific ordinal lands in an UTXO that is controlled by the buyer.
The inscription remains in the original transaction where it was stored. No one can change that.
The buyer gains no control of the inscription because the buyer has no control over the original transaction. The buyer is *mentally* assigning herself ownership of the inscription because she used the Ordinal theory to count satoshis.
This is not different than Johnny selling me the the star Polaris. I know have a piece of paper that says that I'm the rightful owner of the star Polaris.
Anyone can see every inscription that is on the Bitcoin blockchain. As a matter of fact, the *owner* has as much control over the inscription as any of us: zero.
There is no real ownership of inscriptions. Just an arbitrary logic that some people have decided to follow and pay for.
## My verdict
> Ordinals and inscriptions are a fool's errand. They are useless and they are harming the Bitcoin network by unnecessarily raising transaction fees.
>
> I do hope that they fade soon.
At the same time, and following Jocko's philosophy, experiencing the impact of inscriptions now is good for Bitcoin.
We, and I definitely include myself here, have been complacent with UTXO management. We could get away with it while fees were low. But now we can't.
High transaction fees and full mempools are here to stay. Today it is inscriptions, tomorrow it will be the new wave of adopters coming in.
As a result, I can't setup a friend anymore with a non-custodial Lightning wallet and then send him 50,000 satoshi as a welcome gift. High fees make this impossible.
Bitcoin needs to continue evolving to support onboarding and adoption by new users even in a high fee environment and inscriptions are giving us the opportunity to build the solution before massive amounts of people come onboard.
---
# Notable notes
nostr:note1d4qy3j7nu70rfuvq29xfq3866jv94swm3e2ds5jnx8uu8a4cnh2q23psnm
nostr:note1ru42zh6222pcwcezjk5h6ffsjpnzt69nvq0scxtjtuhwklcfa55szg79mh
---
# Recommendations
## Odell
He saw it coming: "Mempools will never clear again."
You can follow him [here](nostr:npub1qny3tkh0acurzla8x3zy4nhrjz5zd8l9sy9jys09umwng00manysew95gx).
---
## What did you think of today's newsletter?
Your feedback helps me create the best newsletter possible for you.
Please leave a comment and checkout comments from other subscribers and readers. I love hearing from the Bitcoin For Families community ❤️ 🙏🏻
---
See you again next week!
— Alejandro
This newsletter is for educational purposes. It does not represent financial advice. Do your own research before buying Bitcoin.
Thanks, this is a helpful post!