Fun fact: Today, February 1st, is both the beginning of Black History Month and National Dark Chocolate Day. Hm.

Node question: I’m rebooting Umbrel from scratch, and downloading 2 core apps, Bitcoin Core and Knots. The two seem to be synching the blockchain in parallel, at very different blockheights, which leads me to worry: Are they both downloading separate blockchains to my hard-drive? i.e. am I double-synching, taking up twice the space?

I’m spinning up a new node from scratch. I hear a lot about running BTC Core via Knots, but don’t see the obvious advantage on a quick view of their site. Could anyone spend a minute convincing me whether it’s a Must or a Doesn’t Matter? thxinadvance

Question: if my private key is, say, 12 BIP39 words and a 13th-word password, is there any way someone who knows or guesses those 12 words will know there is a 13th word password? i.e. would they know the 12 words are a valid key and they just need to figure out the password, or will they simply have to assume the 12 words were not in fact a valid key? The 13th word creates an entirely new key, so I’m assuming there’s no way for an attacker to know “they’re on the right track”, right?

I’m kinda tired of Bitcoin, but wanna Nostr!, so I’m just gonna do stuff don’t judge it’s all about funnertainment:

Perhaps in a last paralytic nod to the death of DEI, the Pantone Color of the Year has been chosen! Its Mocha Mousse. Expect everything to become a rich, luxuriant brown for the rest of the year. It’s not the color we need, but the color we deserve. Or something. I guess.

CTVNews

Pantone names its colour of the year for 2025

Pantone has named an 'evocative soft brown' its colour of the year for 2025, continuing a tradition that has now run for more than a quarter of a c...

Fascinating take from Matthew Kratter on using Strike for free forward privacy (albeit Strike has the receipts). Would welcome comments as I feel this is a frame-shift tactic for more casual chainalysis obfuscation.

Since price-talk is the unavoidable fetish lately, here’s the summation of my 25-years in of Technical Analysis in Equities and Bitcoin.

If you stop typing… And listen. Really listen…. The Sociopaths are beating on the gates of Sound Money.

I didn’t have Bitcoin vs the IRS on my radar for 2024, but it seems it’s definitely a bogey for 2025! Bureaucracy is so clumsy and pathetic. Unleash first wave before the Bitcoin Tower Defense!

Kudos @vrod ! Years ago I posted on Reddit a framed hospital bill my local doctor put on his wall from his Dad’s practice. More-or-less a 4-day hospital stay (w/ maybe 4 lines of itemization about food and board) that amounted to roughly $56. We need real reminders like this! View quoted note →

Just a thought on a Saturday night. Bitcoin has always had ~30% dips during a bull-run. More than one. That’s incredibly healthy, and necessary even. Few can ride a bull 8-seconds. No one can work the ranch if they can’t ride the bull. Bear-markets are where the Soul gets hardened. Bull-markets are where the the Rider gets hardened. Strap-on Ladies and Gents! 30% down is low-$7o,ooo’s from here.

I feel this is worth pointing out: Due Dissidence podcast believes the reason Terrorism charges are being brought against Luigi Mangioni is because that charge would require Social Media to suppress the up-swelling of support that’s been happening there (which might likely fuel copycat attacks). https://rumble.com/v61ibrh-alvin-bragg-brings-terrorism-charges-against-luigi-mangione.html?e9s=src_v1_mfp

This might be a question younger people won’t relate to, but here goes: What is an album/CD you bought because of a hit song, then came to love everything on it EXCEPT the hit song? - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Going 1st: Modern English’s brilliant “After the Snow” (hit song “I’ll Melt With You”) also 4 Non Blonde’s “Bigger Better Faster More” (“What’s Going On”) Another ‘80’s pick - Underworld’s “Underneath the Radar” (love this one SO much, but I still also love the titular hit as well).

Started watching “Yellowstone” w/ my girlfriend. While I appreciate the storyline and direction, I’m having a hard time buying it, and it’s kinda pissing her off. So I’ll leave these thoughts here where it won’t matter if they trigger anyone, and go back to enjoying the show with her. As someone who grew up in rural Texas - and as a Maxi - the whole Hollywood “rich dudes can still be tough-as-nails American Cowboys” daydream in “Yellowstone” is like watching shitcoiners cling to proof-of-work. It isn’t real, it never was, and it’s some kind of last, sub-conscious projection of power before an inevitable hard wake-up call, imho. The American Cowboy was a fantasy that captivated the world, yet never actually existed. It was irl simply a unique decade or so when poor white trash were given free license “go take what you can, do what you want - Government will come in and mop up later”. Yet that very, very brief, unique era for a handful of Americans enraptured and encaptured human imagination worldwide forever. Freedom and Responsibility. I can only hope Bitcoin is that same, remarkable opportunity. I hope this (likely brief) era for Bitcoin will somehow light a fire in our collective soul as well. I don’t see how it can. But then no one scraping and raping the American West saw themselves as heroes either. They were just following their selfish - yet briefly free and unfettered - incentives. Just like I’m doing now.

The role of Artists, imo, is to envision the future and question it. As an Artist, I’ve watched what’s happening with “AI” (a misnomer)…and have been excited and also dismayed. But long story short. Art has been in a nadir for decades now. Overrun by formula. By Fiat money I welcome our new AI-bandit overlords. They’re going to break the fiat system. For the 20 years or more. After that, humanity will retake Art and Culture. But that’s a long way off. We have a generation of wild-catters decentralizing “Hollywood” ahead of us right now.

Just a PSA reminder because it’ll be forgotten soon, so never forget: “If you can’t openly audit an election, it’s not an election.”

Ok Nostr mods, delete my last post plz. I’m hearing it had dark tone. Mebbe this moar better for the champagne-and-ketamine crowd: @yellow + @Narwhal Tacos = BFF!

You never stopped believing @yellow Throughout the long, dark night of all our souls. Your suffering will never be forgotten.

The Central Feature of all false, misleading Spiritual Philosophies: “If you don’t embrace, you are against.” This is unerring. Truth never demands commitment.