Have been down with a cold. Back in action today.

Marc Andreessen argues with a straight face that no one but god can determine what the truth is but Elon Musk is an incorruptible human being because he “only says things that are true”.

Apple Podcasts

#458 – Marc Andreessen: Trump, Power, Tech, AI, Immigration & Future of America

Podcast Episode · Lex Fridman Podcast · 01/26/2025 · 3h 57m

@jack calling out @ODELL for the GM posts that dominate the trending feeds was chefs kiss of this episode. But what I’m also interested in is the stuff that you don’t really hear elsewhere. Like Jack pointing out that Meta is a company that blows with the wind and has no core values. Zuck’s apology tour for censoring people rings hollow. Why? He blames the Biden admin for censorship but Jack says the administrations (both Trump’s and Biden’s) would log protests over content but couldn’t actually do anything about it. Jack says his hand was never forced by politicians but rather it was advertisers that had the real sway. By threatening to pull their budgets they could force Twitter to cancel accounts. Still, many people will listen to this and only hear “Government Censorship!” I appreciate how Jack doesn’t fine tune his POV to fit all of the preexisting narratives and instead offers nuance. And for the @jack haters, the guy has done more for bitcoin and Nostr than you have, most likely. View quoted note →

Easy ride this morning. Level 57. #zwift #proofofwork

@Danny Knowles is my favorite bitcoin podcaster. Miss Pete a little bit too, but so glad Danny brought WBD back to life. He asks good questions and then stays out of the way to let people answer. @Lyn Alden always brings a level headed rational analysis even when insane things like $TRUMP coin are going on. View quoted note →

#zwift #podcast #introductions

Apple Podcasts

127 - Sunk Cost: The US. Navy

Podcast Episode · The Red Line · 12/23/2024 · 2h 2m

“The Red Line” with Michael Hilliard is a great geopolitics podcast that covers topics no one else is talking about. For instance, the collapse of the US ship building industry over the past few decades.

@CITADEL DISPATCH episode 149: I’m a fan of BPI and think they are doing good work, but less PR spin on this conversation would be nice. It’s unwise when people are so tuned out of mainstream opinions that they can only see everything in Bitcoin through rose (Trump) tinted glasses. Listen to what Zack Shapiro is saying. BPI wrote a hypothetical executive order for a bitcoin national reserve. They didn’t coordinate with Trump. They don’t have any idea if the incoming administration has even seen it. Importantly - the BPI draft is the weakest version of a bitcoin strategic reserve. It simply orders the government not to sell the bitcoin it already has legal custody to. In just the past few days, the US has lost this bitcoin in a few judicial rulings. It’s going back to Bitfinex and being sold off (two separate cases). In this episode ODELL predicted a 90% chance of the creation of a Bitcoin Reserve in Trumps first few weeks. Talk about hopium. #zwift

Pretty good stuff from Mark. Especially the rant about the strategic bitcoin reserve that starts around the :35 mark Some main points: Elon, Zuck and Bezos are going to be sitting together at the inauguration. Do we not remember?? These guys were the baddies Trump is not your savior Patience. Think about the second order effects. Build from individualist up Not nation state down. … Kind of lost me with the conspiracy theories in the second half. Like all conspiracy theories, kernels of truth tenuously connected by assumptions and flimsy evidence. View quoted note →

Super interesting recounting of Bitfinex hack that I haven’t heard elsewhere, including the flaw in security that allowed it. View quoted note →

Apple Podcasts

LIVE: US Government Selling Bitcoin? BTFD with Jack Mallers, Matt Odell, Marty Bent, & Calle

Podcast Episode · The Jack Mallers Show · 01/14/2025 · 1h 52m

Oof. And @jack mallers goes straight from a pretty good Nostr discussion to asking people to DM Dylandotdotdot on Twitter for his trivia contest. Cmon Jack.

Apple Podcasts

LIVE: US Government Selling Bitcoin? BTFD with Jack Mallers, Matt Odell, Marty Bent, & Calle

Podcast Episode · The Jack Mallers Show · 01/14/2025 · 1h 52m

@calle discusses the LA fires and how bitcoin gives people a better option to store their wealth than real estate does. We can see how quickly people lost everything and many will now be denied insurance claims, etc. But what are people supposed to do? Rent a home and put their money in bitcoin? Where is the stability in that idea?

Apple Podcasts

LIVE: US Government Selling Bitcoin? BTFD with Jack Mallers, Matt Odell, Marty Bent, & Calle

Podcast Episode · The Jack Mallers Show · 01/14/2025 · 1h 52m

@jack mallers makes some great arguments about Ethereum being wildly overvalued considering the market opportunities (“decentralizing” business sectors) compared to the market opportunities of Bitcoin - resetting money at a nation state level across the globe. It’s all of trade and finance on one side of the scale and some random defi use cases on the other side.

On my past couple of Zwift rides, I noticed that I was creeping up on 300 hours of total ride time. (For the uninitiated – Zwift is an indoor virtual cycling app that works by attaching your bike to a direct drive trainer. Sort of like a peloton, but serious. Where I live, it’s a great way to train and stay fit during the winter months and bad weather days.) I find it hard to get through indoor Zwift rides without some kind of entertainment, as good as the platform might be. Stationary cycling in a basement can get pretty monotonous, so while I’m “pushing watts” I am always listening to something. On 80% of my rides, that something is a bitcoin podcast. Quick napkin math means I’ve listened to around 240 hours of bitcoin podcasts, which is actually a low-ball number since it doesn’t include walking the dog (another time of day I catch up on bitcoin podcasts). Now, I’ve always had this analogy in my head that Zwift and Bitcoin are similar in the realm of “proof of work”. In Bitcoin, energy is spent to mine bitcoin block rewards. In Zwift, energy is spent to accumulate stats and virtual rewards. It’s a video game, but the physical energy input is real. Just like the real energy that’s stored in every bitcoin. Proof of work in bitcoin can also mean, “How much are you studying it?” This morning I was pedaling away, listening to the tail end of a “What Bitcoin Did” episode and rolled right into “Money Matters”. Suddenly, I had an idea. Why not make all of this time cycling and listening to bitcoin even more productive with a nostr account dedicated to podcast reviews while zwifting? So I spun up @Zwiftcoin. Where you get podcast highlights, key ideas summarized, interesting insights that stand out to me. I get productive indoor exercise sans boredom. It’s a win, win, win, win, win. Plus we’re all winning thanks to Bitcoin. We’ll see where it goes. I had been looking for something fun to contribute to the Nostr ecosystem, which is maybe why my subconscious was pondering and cooked up this idea this morning. To put a benchmark on it, if I gain 100 followers per month, I’ll keep it up. If it fizzles out, that’s ok too. I figure I’ll still get something out of it, successful or not. #introduction

@less says when it comes to price cycles he’s not really concerned about bitcoin tops. Instead think about bitcoin bottoms in the bear market. That’s the real growth of the asset. Buyers of last resort will always be the DCA hodlers. Last cycle that price was $15K. This cycle he expects $70K. So smart. Great way to frame it and remove the emotional drama. View quoted note →