135 - Moving on again
🇮🇹 As we close out September it is again time for us to move on. The days are shortening and the weather is getting cooler and SE Asia is calling. We will still do some family visits on the way - so if you are in Holywood or Belfast in the coming week, reach out and say Hello!
We have really enjoyed our stay here in Palermo, Sicily. It has been a real surprise to us, even after Madeira, Mallorca, Malta and Sardinia. The pace of life here is rather relaxed; it is clearly island life as it should be - they are far from Rome and Brussels (in more ways than one). Our apartment has been excellent - it is perfectly designed, spacious and we have really enjoyed the great location, a good kitchen and our sunny terrace with a view on the main walking street. And it is centrally located near everything you need in town - including the friendly local supermarket and markets.
We got in a few more outings and visits around town and in the nearby towns. We have certainly not done more than scratch the surface of what there is to see and do in Sicily; it is the largest island in the Mediterranean. Among other things we did not get to see Mount Etna.
We did go to Catacombe dei Cappuccini. Our first trip was one afternoon and the queues were beyond belief so we opted to skip and return in the morning. Smart choice! When get got back the next day there was no queue and we walked around with just a handful of other visitors. This was a truly bizarre experience. They have a seemingly unique mummification and preservation process for the bodies and most of them are preserved in the clothes that they wore at the time and they hang on the walls along the tunnels. Taking pictures was not allowed but you can certainly get the feel of the place here.
Mondello is the main beach town - I suppose it is equivalent to Poetto Beach near Cagliari. It is a short 15 minute bus ride from Piazza Crispi. Being near to the end of the season and we had no crowds - we had a very nice morning there. Apparently in season this is to be avoided being completely overwhelmed by tourists - even the paid sun-loungers in the lidos are all taken!
Lastly we went to visit a couple more local churches. These have obviously been restored but the underlying work is incredible. Check them out: Church of San Giuseppe dei Padri Teatini and Chiesa del Gesù di Casa Professa.
In case you were wondering about the climate here - see below - like most of the Mediterranean, it does get hot towards the end of June and you likely want to spend July and August further north.
Next week we're in Holywood and Belfast. Say hello if you are close!
Book of the week
Quite a few of my recent books have been fairly heavy and intellectually demanding. Since V and I are a bit in holiday-mode at the moment, I wanted something interesting and not too challenging to read this week. A few moments of reflection guided me to pick up my copy of Mythos by Stephen Fry. This is absolutely recommended and required reading - and the audiobook is superb.
Click for my review and thoughts
This is the first in a series of three books he published on Greek Mythology - all of them are recommended. This book serves as both an introduction to the myths for newcomers and a refreshing retelling for those familiar with the tales. You ought to be in awe of Stephen's depth and breadth of knowledge on and this intricate and fundamental knowledge as well as his story-telling ability.
He begins his narrative with the primordial void of Chaos, leading you through the creation myths that lay the foundation for Greek mythology. He introduces us to key figures such as Gaia (Earth), Ouranos (Sky), and the Titans, culminating in the rise of Zeus and his siblings and "toys". This chronological approach presents a coherent story from what are often disparate myths in a way that is both engaging and informative.
The storytelling is infused with humour, making even the most tragic tales feel relatable. For example: Pandora was created by the gods as part of a punishment for humanity. After Prometheus stole fire from the gods to give to mankind, Zeus decided to retaliate against humans. He ordered Hephaestus to mould Pandora from earth and water, imbuing her with beauty and charm, and then sent her to Epimetheus, Prometheus's brother. Despite Prometheus's warnings about accepting gifts from Zeus, Epimetheus was captivated by Pandora.
Pandora came with a jar (often mistakenly referred to as a box) that she was instructed not to open. Unfortunately her innate curiosity got the better of her and led her to lift the lid of the jar. As she opened it, all manner of evils—sickness, death, and despair—escaped into the world, bringing suffering to humanity with one item remain trapped inside the jar - hope.
There are hundreds more stories like this. However much you think you know Greek Mythology and these stories, you will be amazed at how much you did not know and Stephen Fry is just fabulous at telling these tales.
Once you have enjoyed this, do go on to enjoy Heroes and Troy - the other two books in the series. Remember what we have discussed about making your own backups of both the eBooks and the audiobooks that you you have purchased. Remember too that Anna's archive is something that you likely want to use and support.
More in this issue
- Photo memories - a few last memories from Palermo
- Project Updates - Signal, Bitcoin and evil Apple
- Plenty of useful links - don't say nobody told you!
- Closing out - Moving to the next level
A last week in Palermo
🛠️ Project Updates
The following are updates from some projects that I am following, supporting and collaborating with. These are all part of the Parallel Systems that we need to build and use. What are you doing?
This is interesting
Signal is not perfect but it is generally accepted as the best and most private of the mainstream messengers. Their recent introduction of usernames makes private use somewhat more accessible. Even so if you want or need several Signal accounts you could only run one on your phone till now.
Molly is a hardened fork of Signal on Android (and CalyxOS and Graphene) with some extra usability and security features. The most interesting feature is that it enables you to access additional Signal accounts from your phone. This video review unpacks what features Molly adds and Henry's experience using it has been - pros/cons, and a lot more!
For Graphene users
You will recall that I am a fan and supporter of GrapheneOS as an alternative operating system to Android. This does work rather well and it is packed with interesting security and privacy features. It works well in combination with data-only eSim like silent.link that you can buy anonymously with Monero.
A recent (or perhaps upcoming) challenge is Google's introduction of APIs to check if apps were installed from the Google Playstore. This has the potential to block side-loading and you may find yourself with no option but Playstore for some things like banking applications. Well there is an interesting solution - watch here for a working technique to obtain and retain anonymous gmail accounts.
Forking wars in the future
This is a fascinating explainer by Matt - citing Francois Pouliot's post.
Should there ever be a Coinbase disaster scenario (coins stolen or lost) we might see a massive consortium of powerful interests clamouring for a Bitcoin fork to somehow "recover" their loss. This would effectively create a new altcoin which they would claim is "the real Bitcoin". We have been there before - indeed this was the first topic of my very first Blog Post back in December 0f 2021.
The networks resist the Empire by being decentralised and using Proof of Work (PoW), not Proof of Stake (PoS). This is why the Empire hates Bitcoin. It really is "outside money" that they cannot control. This is why you want to own some.
BTW - this is also why the Empire required that Ethereum be switched to use Proof of Stake (PoS). PoS systems can be manipulated by Cantillionaire forces, those that use Proof of Work (PoW) cannot.
Apple iOS privacy and battery life
You will know that my distrust of Apple up there with that of Google and Microsoft. So I am very happy when Payette releases his periodic checklists of settings that you want to disable on iPhone. As you will see, some of these are counterintuitive (with intentionally misleading descriptions) and extremely deeply buried and hard to find - he finds them and helps you set things as you wish.
This is for the latest iOS 18 release. You may or may not choose to upgrade to this now but do watch his video. Most of the settings apply to earlier versions and you can come back to this again if/when you do upgrade. BTW - I absolutely support Simon's view below. I am delighted with Pixel 4a and 5a running GrapheneOS.
Another reason to use the older and cheaper phones is that they often do not have the tracking capabilities of the later phones and/or those are easier to disable on them.
🔗 Links for your edification
The following are links from my NetNewswire feeds - learn, enjoy and share.
CTO's perspective - I tend to agree
Listen carefully to what CTO Larsson says. He gives you a rather clear explanation of all of the things that are changing. Whether you like it or not, they are coming and it is up to you how you react to the changes.
Hopefully the DoubleSpeak is obvious
It should be a statement of obvious - but the propaganda machine does not want you to know the truth and masses will just believe that their corrupt politicians and media tell them.
Read all the details and supporting information here:
Peter St Onge
Click to read all the data and supporting information
Remember: you were warned - perhaps you can see it now?
"War is peace. Freedom is slavery. Ignorance is strength."
~ George Orwell, 1984
He's right - Calibre and Libation
This week I came across this short clip. Olly explains how the evil that is Amazon just became too much for him and how he has used the Open Source tool Calibre (that we have discussed before) to have a backup copy of all of his Kindle books that are also available to read on his other eReaders. Beyond that, he reminds us that Goodreads is also owned by Amazon and (recall Nicole's video last week) the cantillionaires buy the competition, do minimal integration and then stifle any further development. He contrasts that with TheStoryGraph - an interesting and dynamic alternative.
BTW - remember that you can do the same thing with your Audiobooks using Libation - we discussed this here.
Base-Money evolution
For the last 10 or more years, Matthew has been researching to obtain proper data from all the central banks about their "base money" supply and how this evolves over time. It may or may not be obvious to you that growth in this number leads to inflation.
Things get rather interesting when you compare and correlate base money supply vs bitcoin price and their mutual evolution. You may not have realised that bitcoin has now surpassed UK Sterling base money in terms of overall value.
BTW - all of the above is independently confirmed and corroborated by Lyn's analysis:
Lyn Alden
Click for extensive independent supporting evidence
The central bank can increase the quantity of money only if it succeeds in keeping the public in the dark about its true intentions. Inflation works as long as people are fooled by the authorities' manipulation of the money supply.
~ Mises in Human Action
🤔 Closing Thoughts
Just one item to close out this week - it's a good one and it leads on to a whole series of research updates that I do recommend you familiarise yourself with.
Moving things up a level - Archaix 3.0
You may or may not know but in recent months, Jason has been moving his research and information dissemination on Archaix up a level. With the launch of Archaix 3.0 he is meeting several times a week with other researchers and they are sharing their insights and unearthing synergy and collaboration opportunities.
One of the latest interviews was with David from TruthWarrior. This interview is well worth a listen. I start it below at a particularly interesting spot but I do recommend that you also wind back to the start and listen to the full discussion.
David has made all of the research from his "Cult of the Medics" freely available to watch and share. This is recommended watching if you want to understand what is happening now in the world and why. He does much more than this - check his website.
Recommended listening and to share
Cult of the Medics is a long-running investigation into the modern medical industrial complex, how it operates, and examines its ancient and occult origins. Be prepared for some massive dot-connections, red-pill moments and a 40,000 foot view of the goings-on in today's human experience.
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- Morpheus to Neo in The Matrix
- The Architect
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