146 - Chatuchak this week
🇹🇠Another busy week here in Bangkok. V and I have settled quickly back in the swing of things and we both have our routines working for us - in addition to all the things that we need to do here!
On Saturday I had the Bitcoiner meetup at BoB Space. This was a next-level discussion in Bitcoin Mining dynamics and the importance of StratumV2. Discussion on this is for the Project Updates but as always it was nice to meet familiar faces again and catch up on everyone's updates since we last met. Interesting things are happening too with bitcoin mining in northern Thailand using solar energy - we certainly do have plenty of sunshine here!
Sunday morning, after our daily swim, V and I did a nice trip out to Chatuchak weekend market. We have a few favourite spots there and it was nice to see the market busy and full of people and nice to be recognised by a few of the folks out there too!
Monday evening I was back again at the Satoshi Square Bitcoin meetup. It is really handy since they are meeting at Craft in Soi 23 and this is a good location but we already packed out 3 tables and there were plenty who could not get seats. Indeed as the price goes up, so too does the interest and attendance! I again got to meet some really interesting people, including from Ukraine, Turkey and USA and I got to do a few more demos of Cashu and Minibits (more on this below).
On Wednesday we got to go back to Chatuchak. During the week the market transforms into a plant market with all sorts of house and garden plants, right up to full-sized trees. We did a complete loop of the market and V picked a few plants that she wanted for our terrace - it's a bit less demanding this year since it is East-facing rather than South-facing. We really enjoyed our trip around the market and the plant seller was just great - thanks! Heading home, we got a superb Bolt driver to take us and the plants back to our apartment. You have gotta love life in SE Asia!
We are really enjoying our Bangkok apartment in the evenings. It is certainly a bit different from the last two years but each one has its pros and cons. This one has a great terrace and now that V has populated it with the necessary plants we can really enjoy our sky-bar evenings. There is always plenty to watch down on Asoke-Montri road (22 floors below) and I expect that we will get a good view of the fireworks on NY eve…and of course every morning we have the best sunrise ever!
Book of the week
This week, I felt guided to re-read this book. I have mentioned it before but with all that is happening in the world, this seems particularly prescient and I do recommend that you get and read your own copy. And, the audiobook is great.
When Money Dies is the definitive history lesson on what happens when a nation’s currency depreciates beyond recovery. In 1923, with its currency effectively worthless (the exchange rate in December of that year was one dollar to 4,200,000,000,000 marks), the German republic was all but reduced to a barter economy. Expensive cigars, artworks, and jewels were routinely exchanged for staples such as bread; a cinema ticket could be bought for a lump of coal; and a bottle of paraffin for a silk shirt. People watched helplessly as their life savings disappeared and their loved ones starved. Germany’s finances descended into chaos, with severe social unrest in its wake.
The book originally came out in 1975, 50 years after the events it documented. It was re-issued in a second edition in 2010 and now, 100 years after the events, you really do want to pay attention. You will see how the relentless propaganda, misinformation, disinformation and manipulation as well as lack of understanding by the masses lead to the catastrophe that the Empire wants you to forget, lest you see all the same techniques being used on you today.
History many not repeat but read this and you will see so much that rhymes with everything you see going on around you today. Forewarned is forearmed.
Nigel also sees through it and I recommend that you listen to his latest Walk-And-Talk. It is indeed remarkable how the NewSpeak and DoubleSpeak is everywhere and how our language has been corrupted so that you cannot express the correct meaning with terms that have been redefined by the perverse Woke Mind-virus of recent years. Too often the words have been re-defined to mean the opposite of what you think.
In related vein - I have got to recommend that you also read "The Uncommunist Manifesto" - I have reviewed this before and it is also readily available with excellent audiobook.
Click above for the book - or here for my review
You may or may not have read Marx and Engels' book of similar name - don't worry - this is the one that you need. So many insights emerge clearly - not least the Real Spectrum in which Capitalism (properly defined) is at the other end of the spectrum from Politics: Right, Left, and all the "isms", not to mention authoritarianism. Do not be fooled by the NewSpeak all around you. Click here for the full explainer.
More in this issue
- Photo memories - Chatuchak and around Bangkok this week
- Project Updates - Focus on Cashu and Chaumian eCash
- Plenty of useful links - don't say nobody told you!
- Closing out - Gateway and Zodiac - who knew?
Chatuchak and around Bangkok this week
🛠️ Project Updates
This week I am focusing on another of the projects that I am following, supporting and using. Cashu eCash and Chaumian eCash in general, including Fedimint are great examples of how you can use Bitcoin for simple purchases (in person and online/remote) with enhanced privacy and reliability.
This interview of Calle by Matt is absolutely required listening. They begin with some philosophical discussion on the importance of open source development and having more developers actively contributing to developments like this - as opposed to the shitcoinery that the Empire distracts them to.
They had a few technical difficulties at the beginning of this rip. They clear everything up around the 10 minute mark.
Then, starting at 38 minutes the technical discussion starts. Listen and learn. I have offered before to help you get started with Cashu. Click here for step-by-step instructions and I will happily send you your first Bitcoin over Cashu to get going.
A great interview - start at 10 mins then 38 for the technical discussion - click here to join us
(00:00:00) CNBC Intro
(00:05:07) Introduction to Citadel Dispatch
(00:06:01) Technical Difficulties and Live Streaming
(00:10:11) Conversation Begins
(00:15:01) Cashu Project Overview
(00:24:39) Attracting Developers to Bitcoin
(00:38:05) LNURL and Compliance Concerns
(00:50:52) Bitcoin as Freedom Money
(01:00:07) Choosing a Cashu Mint
(01:16:56) Nostr and Cashu Integration
(01:57:01) Future of Cashu and Blinded Amounts
(02:10:14) Nostr Adoption and Social Media
Cashu Resources: https://cashu.space/
Calle's Cashu Wallet: https://cashu.me
Calle on Nostr: https://primal.net/calle
One of the topics that they discuss is which wallet to use. My recommendation is that you try a couple and pick what works best for you. Calle's wallet (Cashu) is great and has the advantage that it completely bypasses the App Store (being a Progressive WebApp - PWA). Also it has all the latest features. Beyond that Minibits is a superb option if you run Android, GrapheneOS or CalyxOS. I have largely switched from using Wallet of Satoshi for small payments to using Minibits - it supports both lightning and eCash payments but your balance is kept in eCash and not with WoS. DYOR and let me know what you think or recommend.
A rather good introduction and explainer
I realise that some (many?) of you will be wondering what all the discussion and excitement is around Cryptocurrencies. You will know that my main focus is on Bitcoin as better (perhaps the best) money. There are other cryptocurrencies and you really ought to understand what they are and what they do. Some do have utility and I expect them to develop further - you likely do not want to take too narrow-minded a view, although keep in mind that they are not Bitcoin. I believe it is better that you should have good information than be misled by influencers.
One more that I would add to the list to be aware of is Monero (XMR). This allows totally private transactions to be made using three separate obfuscation schemes. Even though this is blockchain-based and Proof-of-Work (like Bitcoin) it manages to obscure the amount being sent as well as the sender and the recipient; all three are encrypted and only visible to participants in the transaction. We have discussed before that I see this as being akin to solutions like Cashu and Fedi that introduce additional scaling possibilities and this one gives enhanced privacy as well.
Beyond this you will encounter thousands of other cryptocurrencies - ignore them and do not get suckered in to believing things that look too good to be true! They all rely on the Theory of the Greater Fool.
đź”— Links for your edification
The following are links from my NetNewswire feeds - learn, enjoy and share.
The gold standard - a thought experiment
What would the world look like if we had a gold standard during the twentieth century? What would life be like with constantly appreciating money and declining prices? What would have happened if governments could not have financed themselves with inflation in the last century without accountability? How would living standards and wages have changed? How would the state have evolved? What would have happened to education, technology, politics, and our production of energy?
The Gold Standard attempts to answer these questions with a fictional economic history of an alternative twentieth century in which the fiat money experiment fails in 1915. French aviation pioneer Louis Blériot partners with the Wright brothers in 1911 to build an airplane-based decentralised peer-to-peer gold clearance service, the Bleriot Transport Corporation (BTC).
Contrary to expectations, BTC is a success and demand for its services is robust, and when the Great War begins in the summer of 1914, BTC offers citizens everywhere the chance to escape central bank inflation by exporting their wealth to neutral countries. The result is a global financial panic in September 1915 that bankrupts all the world’s major central banks and destroys their currencies. A new decentralised modern gold standard is built around peer-to-peer airplane gold clearance, and an entirely different twentieth century unfolds.
Click above to read the first 4 chapters AND Preorder for kindle via Amazon
After all that, perhaps now is a good time to reflect on the lessons of 100 years ago in When Money Dies. Once seen, you cannot unsee these things but you need to see it for yourself.
FT on Bitcoin
Meanwhile - elsewhere in the Matrix, I did spot this headline. As with the Economist, the FT has become completely untrustworthy and is no longer objective or impartial. It is noteworthy that they thought they had to print this - even if it is difficult to understand what they mean. Pathetic!
🤔 Closing Thoughts
A couple of closing thoughts this week. Firstly some follow-up on the Gateway Process and then some rather interesting insights into the origin of the Zodiac. You might be surprised to discover that it is of Greek origin and much more recent than you were led to believe.
Gateway Process follow-up
Thanks to those of you who reached out about the Gateway Tapes. Yes, they are serious and for real and you likely do want to take time to listen to them. As Dan mentioned last week, do not rush them. Take your time and do no more than one per day. When you hit one that resonates with you, do it for a few days.
I was intending to highlight some but they are all good and you will find some more useful than others depending on your own circumstances.
Circling the square
Jason unveils yet another thing that you did not know and is certainly different from anything you have been taught or told before. This is more significant than you think because the recent introduction of the Zodiac, as we know it today, means that it did not exist more than 3,000 years ago and so this invalidates all those who claim to use it to date items and events 10,000 or more years ago.
Click for Jason to help open your eyes
This is a fascinating discourse and you will gain all sorts of new insights. Jason mentions and shows many reference books. Remember that you can obtain these yourself from Annas Archive - this is the best book resource in the world.
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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
- The Architect
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