🇹🇭 This week V and I exchanged the hustle and bustle of Bangkok for that of Phuket! We are down south on the island for a bit enjoying the change of scene. While here we took the opportunity to do a few island things and also to meet up with a former colleague who frequently visits here.

We have been staying at Patong Beach. This is Phuket’s most famous stretch of sand and the island’s de-facto tourist capital, running 3 km along the west coast. The beach itself has soft white sand and clear turquoise water that is calm enough for swimming most of the year. Jet-skiing, parasailing and banana-boat rides are on offer all day. The north end of the beach is generally quieter and cleaner than the central stretch.

Many things here are open from 0700 in the morning to catch the early birds who like to get out and walk along the beach (that's us) through till 0230 or even later for the party people (not us). We enjoyed our morning beach walks - the beach really is superb at that time of the day.

Two centuries already!

You might have noticed that this newsletter is already 200 in the series. Two years since the last milestone and already four years since I had that premonition and knew that it was important to make a start on writing and sharing these.

100 - A century already

🇹🇭 So already 100 newsletters! When I started writing the newsletters back in December 2021 I had a premonition that things were about to change significantly in the world in general. I wanted to document what I saw going on around me and also to share what wisdom I have and

Letter from ...around the worldRoger Price

Thanks to all those subscribers who have reached out to discuss topics and share their own insights over the years. I have enjoyed those discussions and I think we have all learned as a result.

Remember that you can consider these newsletters like weekend magazines - you do not need to read each one all in one go - and you can always go back to bits that you found interesting and enjoyed - older newsletters are on the website. Like any good magazine - you can also share with friends!

Books of the year

Hopefully you will have a bit of time over Christmas and New Year to do some reading. I have two books to recommend - one fiction and one that is an interesting mix of history, fiction and economics. Get them both and enjoy.

First up is "The Mandibles". This claims to be 100% fiction but every word feels like right now - or imminent. The Mandibles family once expected a huge inheritance from their 97-year-old patriarch Douglas Mandible; when the dollar is abruptly devalued and replaced by an international digital currency (the "Bancor"), that fortune evaporates overnight.

The novel is split into two sections - 2029-2032, when the initial shock hits, and 2047, when the US has become a bankrupt, hyper-inflationary backwater policed by Mexican border guards.

Next is "The Gold Standard" by Saifedean Ammous. In it he recounts an alternative history that explores how the 20th century might have unfolded had the world remained on a gold standard instead of adopting fiat money.

The book blends one-third history, one-third fiction, and one-third economic analysis to imagine a timeline where the fiat money experiment collapses in 1915. In this alternate reality, French aviator Louis Blériot partners with the Wright brothers in 1911 to create the Blériot Transport Corporation (BTC)—a decentralized, airplane-based gold-settlement network that replaces central banking systems.

For those who need more

I have got to recommend this interesting YT channel. The reviewer is anonymous though he does say that he lives in West Texas. He seems to have the best collection of books you could ever imagine. He started his YT channel to explain the best and most important books in his collection to his daughters and this has widened to a global audience that appreciates his insights.

One example is his recent review of books related to False Flags. As he says, and you may well be aware yourself, this is highly relevant to what is currently happening on the global stage and also what may well happen in the months to come.

Important Books Related to False Flags

Summary of 10 Important Books Related to False Flags Here are the key books highlighted in the transcript, each with a brief description: 1. It’s a Conspiracy – Exposes the staged testimony of “Nayirah” used to justify the first Iraq War, revealing the PR firm Hill & Knowlton’s role in

Letter from ...around the worldRoger Price

Do not say that nobody told you. Many of the authors he mentions are no longer alive but the material is highly relevant as you will see. In case you have difficulty finding a copy - remember that you always have Anna's Archive.

Thought for the week

One last one to get you warmed up this week. Peter McCormack is a well known and hard working UK Bitcoiner. He is s Chairman of Real Bedford FC, a football club he tirelessly helps to promote and develop. He is outspoken in trying to build real community in his home town of Bedford. He recently felt compelled to write the following:

How Governments Can Be Forced to Change

What Peaceful Revolution Actually Looks Like

Peter McCormackPeter McCormack

Do take the time to click above and read. Peter is certainly right in all that he says. He knows that the practical steps he suggests are necessary but not sufficient. That said, it is important to make a start. Do so - and discuss with your friends and those around you.

More in this issue

• Photo memories - Around Phuket this week
• Project Updates - Immich is easier and better than you imagine
• Plenty of useful links - don't say nobody told you!
• Closing out - Closing the book on 360 day years and the Yugas

🛠️ Project Updates

This week I am giving you a nice weekend or holiday project. This is something within the reach of anyone with a spare computer - and this could well be an excellent introduction to running Linux if you like. And, of course, I have a Bitcoin topic too.

Get your photos out of the cloud

It can hardly have slipped your attention that companies like Google are now capitalising on all of your data - selling it to advertisers and even all sort of other nefarious characters who use it in ways that you could never have imagined.

Beyond that, you are likely fed up with the recurring and ever-increasing monthly fees that they extract. You can be sure that these fees will never go down. Even more distasteful is that you are paying them to mishandle your data.

You do have a great alternative. I have suggested before that you look into alternatives to Google and Apple Photos. Until now these have been somewhat restricted to advanced users but Immich has really got to the point where it is usable by all who want and are prepared to put in just a bit of effort.

Immich is easy to get started with. Do a Takeout of your photos from Google and you can import them directly into Immich. Installing your phone is also simple and once you get comfortable with this you will not go back.

Immich-go is a fantastic little utility. It easily and surprisingly quickly ingests your photos from Google - or any other service you have exports from. The beautiful thing is that it works directly from your Google Takeout Files - there is no need to unzip them first. Doing this allows you to keep your Takeout files as backup. Louis explains why immich is important - you can get the extended demo here.

And here is an independent review, also strongly recommending Immich. Even more interesting is that Tailscale solves all the issues of remote access for you and your partner/family. We have discussed Tailscale before and it too is something that you do want to be familiar with and likely to use.

Ordinals and free speech

This next one is interesting. You likely recall the whole discussion around Ordinals and how negatively they have been perceived by all who think that Bitcoin is and should be the best money we have. Personally, I do not support ordinals on Bitcoin and I think that we should explore sensible options to discourage or eliminate them.

You likely also recall that the Knotts fork of Bitcoin core is one mechanism that has been suggested. This came to the fore when Bitcoin Core developers chose to remove the OP_RETURN limit - something that could facilitate more Ordinals and spam. The worst thing they did was to suppress debate on the issue. Fortunately you need not accept this new default on your own Bitcoin node.

This next development should also catch your attention. Debate on this has also been stifled and they have attempted to suppress discussion. Do listen - it is a remarkably interesting suggestion and like all Bitcoin developments it should be openly discussed and proper consensus should be achieved.

TLDR: It touches on the issue of fungibility of each Satoshi. The argument goes that if people have chosen to make their Satoshis "non-fungible" (as in NFT) for some reason (and their containing UTXO falls within the dust limit) then there is no reason why Bitcoin should consider them in the UTXO pool (unless they are being consolidated into spendable UTXOs).

This seems to be a very smart solution to the problem of Ordinals indeed and it certainly warrants open discussion and should not be suppressed.

🔗 Links for your edification

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

You are suffering from Planned Obsolescence

Part of the reason older IOS devices no longer receive App updates and lose the ability to download new apps is because of a few 13MB files removed by Apple which would allow developers continue to push their apps to older phones.

Apple is intentionally breaking something that is working. They do not want you to have the ability to keep your older phone and this is yet another evil way that they are forcing people to upgrade.

Recall that we have discussed before: you do not need or want to have a flagship phone. You are far better to get an older model - either second-hand or re-furbished. You can even find these older models for sale new in their box from re-sellers with a bit of searching.

For anyone who struggles

This one is interesting and some of you may well find this useful. Personally I have been using something like this for years. I have long recommended that you use only older (even second hand or refurbished) phones and I strongly recommend GrapheneOS on Pixel Phones.

With the Multiple Profiles feature on GrapheneOS you can have as many different phones on one device as you like - each one with its own apps, colour-scheme and notification settings. So - just do it!

Revisiting The Economist covers

During the week I came across two rather interesting and informative videos. Both were originally in Spanish from a Colombia-based creator but they turn up in my feed as auto-dubbed - yes AI is doing this now.

🤔 Closing Thoughts

We have talked before about the Yugas and you should recall that I have never believed in them being hundreds of thousands of years long - rather the durations should be interpreted as days. Well Jason has done the ultimate and definitive analysis and concludes likewise, albeit with a new twist.

In this presentation, Jason asserts that he is effectively "shutting the book" on the debate regarding the length of the ancient year. He demonstrates that prior to the 8th century BC, the entire world operated on a strictly 360-day year. This was not an approximation or a primitive error, but an accurate reflection of the Earth’s orbit before a catastrophic celestial event altered the solar year to its current 365.24 days. Recall too that the switch took place in 713 BC.

Kali Yuga

Here is a summary of the analysis by Jason of Archaix, focusing on the integration of the Hindu Yuga system into the 360-day ancient year chronology. Introduction: Shutting the Book on the 360-Day Year In this presentation, Jason of Archaix asserts that he is effectively “shutting the book” on the

Letter from ...around the worldRoger Price

Before you dismiss this - take a moment to think about all of the things that are based on 360 and factors and multiples thereof - including 6, 12, 24, 36, 72 and 144. In case you are struggling, Jason lists many of them in his introduction.

ICYMI or in case you forgot - we did already discuss back in Newsletter 100 about the change-over from 360 to 365.24 day years - refresh your memory here.

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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

Any questions or anything else? Feel free to comment below!
You can also email me at: LetterFrom@rogerprice.me

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