“The Patriarchy” is over, right? No, not really, because “the Patriarchy” isn’t just laws, it’s a point of view. I’d argue that legal patriarchy ended in the States in 1993 when marital 🍇 became illegal in all states. But we still struggle with the issue of viewing life and the world through a male lens. Don’t believe me? Here is some data… The Bechdel test: The Bechdel-Wallace test, is a measure of the representation of women in film and other fiction. The test asks whether a work features at least two, named, women who have a conversation about something other than a man. Basically, is a work of fiction written from an entirely male perspective, or are female perspectives included in the work? We can look at Oscar nominated films over the past ~50yrs to get an idea of how the perspective of the western world has been changing. 70-80’s: Only about 25% of Oscar nominated films passed the test. 90’s: 35–45% of Oscar nominated films passed the test. 2010’s: 40–50% of Oscar nominated films passed the test. 2020’s: We are getting close to 70%! How about a reverse Bechdel test you say?? Basically, it’s about 100%. All Oscar nominated films would pass the reverse Bechdel test. Crash test dummies: Men are more likely to get into car accidents, but women are 47% more likely to be seriously injured in a car crash. Why? Crash test dummies and car safety features were designed for men. Even “female” crash test dummies were simply smaller male crash test dummies. But in reality, women are not just just small men, they are women. It’s only in the past few years that meaningful efforts have been made to use crash test dummies and design car safety features that accurately reflect the biomechanics of female bodies. So, yes “the Patriarchy” is still very real and very much with us. But, good news, it diminishes every year because of course it’s is illogical and unwise and harms everyone to have a patriarchal view of the world as the world is half female. Just as it is illogical and unwise and harms everyone to have a matriarchal view of the world as the world is half male.

Can you form a self-concept, an identity, that is totally free from circumstance? An identity that could withstand being picked up and dropped into a completely different life? An identity that would survive being a different sex, a different nationality, a different marital status, a different career, different physical capabilities, a different time in history? If you can pull that off, that is one @#$#$%#$ solid self-concept!!!

I really don’t think we appreciate what the Bitcoin + LN + L402 + Taproot Assets tech stack is about to do—not just for Bitcoin, but for the world at large. Bitcoin – Borderless, decentralized value exchange. LN – A global payment network where micropayments are both technically and economically feasible—and scale! L402 – Using the internet as intended: not just for information exchange, but also for value exchange. Taproot Assets – Multi-asset Lightning. A network where values of all varieties can be seamlessly routed. We’ve done a great job laying the foundations. Now it’s time to break out of the Bitcoin bubble and bring real utility to the rest of the world. Number of people about to go way up!!!

What is your self-concept? Did you inherent it from the world around you, or did you consciously choose it? Who or what group do you draw your understanding of yourself from? It's important to know as that person/group is your master. Self-concept is destiny.

Over the past ~4 years as I’ve been digging into human psychology I’ve been trying to find a way to conceptualize panic attacks. I’ve talked to a variety of therapists, I’ve read all sorts of frameworks, cognitive behavioral therapy, internal family systems, the mind body connection… but I think I just found it in a book on sexual health of all things. Here is the idea… This book walks through stress responses (as that is certainly very relevant to sexual responsiveness) and it discusses where these stress responses come from and how they function with the metaphor of being chased by a Lion. Then the author talks about self criticism and says… “you become the Lion”, and boom, that’s it! A panic attack is this sort of downward spiral that you can’t escape from. Imagine you are in a fear state as you are being chased by a Lion… but you are the Lion. You can run faster and faster but the Lion will still always be there. ...I can feel my heart rate increasing as I type! That’s it! And so if we have an analogy that works, that gives us a solution of sorts. Stop being the Lion.

We praise intelligence but really, emotional maturity is vastly more impactful in our lives.

Did ya know that there is now a Nix package for Lightning Terminal? Lightning Terminal - Litd, is an all-in-one Lightning node management tool that includes LND, Loop, Pool, Faraday, and of course, Taproot Assets 🥕 The package is in the 25.05 release 👇

NixOS Search

How many relationship issues are caused by couples blindly accepting the “traditional” one-size-fits-all relationship model? I love the concept of designer relationships. You can just make your own rules! Do whatever the @#$$% works for you and your partner.

Anyone can run a Taproot Assets Edge Node. Just like running a Bitcoin node, all you need is an interest in doing so, a computer, and an internet connection. If you’re already running a Lightning Node, then being an Edge Node is only a few steps away. Check out this new guide on “Become an Edge Node”.

Become an Edge Node | Builder's Guide

From routing node to Edge node

Just saying...

Healthy relationships require mutual adaptation, not unilateral surrender.

There is this Trevor Noah clip where he noted that in some ways the racism in South Africa was better because it was so blatant. It makes it easier to fight against when you don’t have to also prove to people that it exists. I think about that when I see these types of posts from the red pilled dudes. It’s so blatant, so clear. No one can deny that they actively seek to repress women. ...it’s nice that what I’ve been saying exists for years is now openly telling the world that it exists.

There is this idea, and some experiments to back it up, that 80-90% of the population will just go along with what they are told and don’t pay attention to the world. They will all push the button that they are told to push. They will believe what they are told to believe. And then people expand from that to say that society is doomed, or that people must be controlled or manipulated. Or they use this bit of data to feel superior. Or say that the world can only be saved by this 10%. There is some truth here, but it’s more complicated. I think about it this way… most of us spend most of our time existing in that NPC 90%. We can’t be experts on everything, we can’t pay attention to everything. We just don't have enough time and energy for that. But, in some area of our lives, most of us also exist in that 10%. So instead of thinking you are the elite 10%, or feeling bad about being the NPC 90%, know that you are both! In some areas of life you just go with the flow, and in other areas you are an expert. Know which ones are which, and serve humanity by being that bold 10% in your area of expertise.

As technology evolves, and we evolve, violence is less and less relevant. We aren’t out hunting. We do less manual labor. There is less war. More machinery to lift things. ...we sit and type on computers all day. More and more so our value comes not from our muscles but more from our ability to engage with others. People who got their sense of value from being able to do violence will feel lost in this new environment.

To exist in time, without changing... that is death. Does that make sense in your head? It makes sense in my head.