I've been goofing around with Nostr and #Lightning a bit more. I tried setting up a BTC #Node but my old desktop stalls out around the 70% mark when verifying the blockchain. So, self-hosting a custodial lightning wallet is a no-go for now. I set up the #Alby extension for login and I'm considering subscribing for their custom Nostr and lightning address. I set up my own private Nostr #Relay and I... Think it's working? I literally just plugged my HEX npub into the Nostr RS Relay service on #start9 and it looks like it's working? It would be nice if setting up the lightning network wasn't such a pain. For some reason I can't get my Strike address to work with Nostr integration. So I figured I'd try and self-custodial it, but as I have heard and experienced, it's not a lot of fun to do that. I'll figure it out. Oh, also, unrelatedly, I like to #write and I'm working on finishing up my debut Fantasy #novel for release next year. I will be releasing it into the #Creative #Commons in some form or fashion, so keep an eye out! #introduction #intro #introductions

And yes, I'm working on setting up #zaps for #lightning channel stuff. I'm still new to Bitcoin and I want to make sure I'm doing things correctly. Plus, #Primal won't verify off of my #Strike account for some reason! I'm not going to make another Strike account, so I'm going to figure out an alternative (preferably something self-hosted if that's not too crazy).

I would like to give articles/long posts a shot on Nostr at some point. I've kept my eye on #Substack for many years, and I could have gotten in super early if I wanted. But there was always something that just felt untrustworthy about them. Plus, I'm not a fan of subscription models... Some topics of interest: My Journey Through Alternative #SocialMedia Overthinking Solutions to #Copyright Problems Falling Out of Love with #Copyleft Licensing (Tragedy of the Commons?) Why it took me a billion years to publish my book... etc.

I went to a #writers club again this week. I had a goal of revising the first 10 chapters of my #book and a bonus (overly ambitious) goal of revising all 20! I only made it to chapter 12, but I'm on track to complete this revision next month.

What are your thoughts on a Bitcoin #retail store? Something like what Best Buy did for non-tech savvy people, but for Bitcoin? There are many people who can't or won't wade through the internet to learn about this. I'm curious if a brick and mortar store to educate people and sell Bitcoin stuff (like #hardware #wallets, HDDs, YubiKeys, #books, accessories, seminars, etc.) would be a good #business? I really like the idea of helping your #local #community in a tangible way. #asknostr

The reason I quit using #Farcaster is because I came to believe #Ethereum was fundamentally a flawed foundation. There are lots of well-intentioned people over on Farcaster and I had many fun conversations. The Farcaster client is very sleek and easy to use. But ultimately, the untrustworthy foundation that is Ethereum combined with the gambling #altcoin #memecoin attitude turned me off. This all coincided with me learning more about why #Bitcoin is uniquely the best. I also suspect the reason there are so alternative clients for Farcaster is because the protocol itself is also complex and burdensome. It's night and day compared to Nostr's wide selection and use cases. Proof-of-use: https://farcaster.xyz/michaelofstjoe

It should be illegal to ship any product without a dark mode

After consulting with a #lawyer friend of mine and fellow parishioner, I made some changes to what once was my own content #license. For my use case (which is #writing), he suggested using a much simpler #covenant instead of a formal license. I was not as familiar with covenants, but the simplicity and readability they offer outweighs the more formal agreement provided by a content license. I want to share my work with the world, inspire others, and prove that you can make money in #art without strangling your own audience. #law #copyright #intellectualproperty https://michaelofstjoseph.com/share-no-resale-covenant

My Bitcon #Knots #node on #StartOS #Start9 has taken over a week to get above 70%... I'm using old crappy hardware I put together, but this still feels like a really freaking long time to set it all up!

I've screwed around with #socialmedia for several years and have decided it's not very much fun. It's much more fulfilling to find some niche group chat online and chat with people there. Posting out into the open internet feels more like an invitation for headache. I wish this wasn't the the case, but it has been my observation.