🇭🇰 This week V and I did a mini-trip in Hong Kong. We headed up to Sai Kung for a few days of rest and relaxation. This marks the third anniversary of our travelling. During the week we had yet another Tropical Storm pass by HK: Man-Yi - so the weather was really not the best and this did seem to bring a switch to cooler weather.

Three years ago HK was in the midst of Covid Lunacy with everything still closed down but nothing happening - recall that in those two years officially nobody died of the flu but seemingly 2,100 people (the normal annual number of flu deaths) died "of Covid". All of the hotels were desperate to get visitors so we decided to do a mini-trip most weeks to get out and enjoy life and Hong Kong. Sai Kung was just one of our trips and we did it a few times. If you come here the WM hotel is absolutely recommended.

Little did we know that HK would shortly descend into even deeper madness and mass hysteria as they launched their "6 months to flatten the curve" that kept getting extended to more than 18 months. This is what triggered our travelling to move to the next level. Likely by now most of you can see how ridiculous this was but do wake up to all the other nonsense that is now being propagated these days. Do not fall victim again to the mass hysteria of any of the upcoming "emergencies". Recall our discussion here in Newsletter #132.

Over last weekend I did some great hikes - on Saturday I was out with the hiking group along Pat Sin Leng Nature Trail to Tai Mei Tuk and then on Sunday I was out with a friend to bike DB to Mui Wo and we caught our annual photo (above). Yes - it was hot and humid - that is sweat!

Returning to Hong Kong for lunch, what better destination than the Foreign Correspondents Club (FCC). This is a great meeting spot and of course we did meet some former colleagues and friends. A great lunch too!

Monday morning V and I headed up to Sai Kung. We had booked a hotel for a few days to get away from things. Life in Sai Kung runs a quite a different pace to the rest of Hong Kong and you certainly can unplug from things up there with plentiful islands to visit and trails to hike.

Notwithstanding Tropical Storm Man-Yi that came to visit this week we had a great time. The weather has also switched to cooler. Nice as this is I know that the trend will continue and despite what people think, HK is not so warm in the winter - it's rather more like Belfast in the summer!

Wednesday we returned to Wan Chai since the weather was really no good. V had been looking forward to another night at the races in Happy Valley but the rain from Man-Yi put paid to that.

Thursday evening we had the HK bitcoin meetup - it was nice to meet up again with bitcoiners from here and some that I last saw in Bangkok as well as a few new faces. The group is fairly lively here and you should make a point to go along if you can when you are here.

On Friday the weather was not yet back to normal so my morning hike Central to the Peak and our Windsurfing club lunch got postponed but V and I did have a great lunch together in Sheung Wan. I also got to meet up with yet another former colleague with whom I had worked many years ago here in Hong Kong. It's good to catch up and share perspectives.

Saturday I'll be hiking with the group - we go from Lam Tin MTR to Ma Yau Tong and Little Hawaii - so come along if you are in HK! Sunday, I'll be out hiking with friends and I already have a few meetups planned for next week. Let me know if you are in town and want to meet up before V and I head off again to warmer climes.

Book of the week

This week I am reminding you of a great book that I have reviewed and recommended before. I bring it up again now because as I talk with people on the hikes I realise that most people are completely unaware of how money really works and how all the governments are stealing from everyone through inflation (among other methods, described here). This is the best explainer you can get and I recommend it to all that I talk with to get them started on their journey.

First up consider this short intro video - only 30 mins but packed with information. This is by Lyn Alden (recall her history lesson paper and book review). It has got to be the clearest and best explanation that you will find - if you know better, let me know! All Ponzi schemes come to a bad end and this one is no different - you cannot taper a Ponzi and first out, best out.

One further timely and relevant read - let me suggest When Money Dies by Adam Fergusson: The Nightmare of Deficit Spending, Devaluation, and Hyperinflation in Weimar, Germany. It recounts the story of a hundred years ago but you will be surprised to see how relevant this is today, albeit on a bigger scale. 

Interview of the week

This week I also have an interview for you. At first, much as I love Hrvoje's work, my instinct was to skip this one thinking "I don't need another bitcoin podcast" but this one is different. You will hear some fascinating and divergent views that will challenge your assumptions and bring clarity to a lot of the political and geopolitical charades that are being played out.

They make rather clear the madness of forcing people to disengage from society and to be told only things that you cannot do, rather than a society where all can collaborate and contribute and retain and grow the fruits of their labour. Interestingly, Bitcoin is but part of the discussion and there are many other important topics they consider and discuss.

More in this issue

• Photo memories - Hiking around HK and Sai Kung this week
• Project Updates - Nostr - long form content and Tor Network
• Plenty of useful links - don't say nobody told you!
• Closing out - The origin of the book of Revelation and its original content

🛠️ 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?

Nostr rising

I encourage you to listen to one more of the fabulous series of meetings hosted by NVK. This one is on long-form content (like this newsletter) and how it gets published and circulated. Listen and learn how Nostr does provide a great alternative platform to all of the centralised alternatives on which censorship and restrictions will be imposed.

• (03:15) Challenges of content distribution on Nostr
• (06:42) Nostr as a decentralised platform for creators
• (11:20) The role of relays in content storage and competition
• (15:47) Building user-centric tools for long-form content
• (19:33) Balancing short-form and long-form content on Nostr
• (22:58) Algorithmic feeds and user-controlled algorithms
• (28:40) Primal’s focus on algorithm marketplace development
• (34:15) Human-curated algorithms and user-selected feeds
• (39:48) Ethical advertising and user choice in ads
• (43:22) Importance of competition in relays, clients, and algorithms
• (46:58) Creating customisable algorithms for users
• (48:09) Potential for ethical, non-intrusive advertising
• (50:26) Nostr as a global town square for nuanced discourse
• (51:34) Learning from torrents: the importance of better UX
• (52:24) Closing thoughts on Nostr’s future and appeal to creators

With nearly 3 years of content now in my own newsletter, I am seriously considering how best I could leverage some of the many tools that are now available on Nostr to get my own content out to more people and to bring further awareness on the topics we cover here. Do let me have your thoughts and suggestions.

Tor - potentially an upcoming project

Gabriel and Urban give this excellent explainer on the Tor Network. You should listen and be aware and this is indeed a tool that can be rather useful. They explain not only how you can use it but how you can contribute to the network. Contribution is possible at several levels, at least one of which is available to everyone. The more who contribute use it, the better it is for everyone.

For the hands-on and step by step guide they have a free course - just sign up (with any email alias) and it's free to download and use. How will you contribute?

Running a Tor Relay (Free) – Escape the Technocracy

A brief free course on the many ways to contribute to the Tor network.

🔗 Links for your edification

The following are links from my NetNewswire feeds - learn, enjoy and share.

Wise words

You may or may mot have heard of Katie Hopkins. Whatever, I do encourage you to listen to this snippet of wisdom that she shared the other day. This is but one of many you will find on her channel. Enjoy.

You likely will enjoy the other clips on her channel and I do recommend that you check them out - eg this one that resonates rather well.

ICYMI - Strange that this should be his first announcement

The first announcement Donald Trump made after his election win, was to start what he is calling a Giant State Fair in 2025 (essentially a type of World Fair, but just for US states). Howdie thinks that symbolically this is an important and ponders on the implications. Listen as he explains - I tend to agree.

In case you doubted that the next phase has started

Ninja is visiting Neil in Portugal but took time to give this brief update on some of the things that he sees coming. It should be apparent to you that the silent majority is beyond fed up with the nonsense that was being propagated.

My intuition tells me that Javier Milei in Argentina was a "dress rehearsal" and that "what you see is not what you get", both in Argentina and the USA. Recall what we discussed last week about: "when the people need a hero…"

ICYMI or are wondering what I am talking about - recall Javier's address to the WEF in Davos - here. Then listen to his recent address to United Nations at the end of September.

If you can't see it yet, think back to what supposedly happened in Butler, Pennsylvania and what has happened since - WDYT?

Thoughts after a week off!

Chad is back after a week off and he has done some clear-headed thinking in the meantime. His recent walk-and-talk is full of useful and practical advice on the benefits of focus.

Do you find yourself mindlessly scrolling through social media, only to feel a sense of brain fog and mental fatigue? You're not alone. In today's digital age, it's easy to get caught up in the endless stream of notifications, likes, and comments, but at what cost?

I realise that this is why I read books - when you are reading you are disconnected from the nonsense and able to focus - it's also a bonus for me to learn new things. WDYT?

This would be funny if it wasn't so sad and true

As Chad explained above, phones are making people more stupid. And Big Tech (Apple and Google) are busy releasing ever more ridiculous "features" to justify getting you to pay for the latest model. Sam's take should put a smile on your face.

It should be crystal clear to you now why so many people are opting out - either getting a completely "dumb phone" or going for minimal CalyxOS or GrapheneOS configurations that run well on the excellent second-hand and reconditioned phones that you can (still) readily obtain. My Pixel4a running GrapheneOS is perfect, giving me 2-day battery life and available for around £100.

🤔 Closing Thoughts

After last week's discussion on The Exodus, let's turn our attention to the Book of Revelation. Jason recently had a couple of weeks to re-read this book (why is an interesting story for another day) and link it back with all of his historical analysis.

By simply removing the Judeo-Christian passages from the Revelation text we are immediately confronted with a rather clearly described future scenario. The resulting parent text is devoid of the supernatural and perfectly aligns with both the quatrains of Nostradamus and the prophecy of Mother Shipton, both over 500 years old and both describing two separate back-to-back world events.

It is simple

At first sight, Jason's analysis may be worrying or upsetting but consider Chad's very latest walk-and-talk. As he points out, the answer is simple indeed and you already have everything you need!

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No one can be told what The Matrix is. You have to see it for yourself.
- Morpheus to Neo in The Matrix

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You can also email me at: LetterFrom@rogerprice.me

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