As a commercial lawyer, I use AI every day. Unlike much of the commentary around it, it doesn’t save me much time. If anything, it makes me slower and more careful. If I am lazy and ask it for an answer I have to check almost every legal principle it gives me, because it confidently makes things up. What I find it useful for is thinking. Where I might once have bounced an issue off a colleague and then made the call, I now use AI in that role and still make the call. If you’re using it to do the bulk of your drafting or to give advice without verification, you’re not a modern lawyer. You’re outsourcing judgment, and that will almost certainly end in an avoidable mistake. Judgment is what clients actually pay lawyers for. And it’s the one thing you can’t responsibly delegate.

Prohibition doesn't eliminate the demand for social media in under-16s; it simply drives it underground, where parent visibility and accountability collapse. Tech savvy teens will sidestep mainstream platforms in favour of peer to peer systems. Many are already using private discord servers to chat with their schoolmates. Like the speakeasies of the Prohibition era, a digital underground will emerge as the new medium of online communication. In the same way that western governments “fix” the housing crisis by inflating demand instead of increasing supply, they now try to solve social media excess by restricting access and forcing the youth toward a digital wild west. The end result isn’t increased safety but opacity. In this fragmented digital ecosystem, parents, educators and regulators lose visibility, whilst digital subcultures multiply exponentially. Algorithmic and advertising exposure may shrink, but echo chambers, misinformation, and exploitation risk will expand. All this, just as AI goes mainstream and it becomes increasingly difficult to tell whether you're interacting with a human or a machine. Liberating for the competent and opportunistic; extremely dangerous for the naïve.

Anon, you're analysing what they're doing (digital IDs, censorship, surveillance, social control), but you’re not fully stepping back to question why they need this now. You see through the “protecting kids” rhetoric as a façade, but you haven’t fully confronted the structural collapse and loss of control that governments and legacy institutions are panicking about. It’s not about control in a generic sense. It's that their entire method of governance is becoming obsolete. Centralised systems (financial, media, political) are losing grip because of decentralised tech, alternative economies, and a cultural shift away from institutional trust. Digital ID, censorship, and "protect the children" are not moves of confidence; they’re moves of desperation to keep relevance.

Having a look at the Online Safety Amendment (Social Media Minimum Age) Bill, just released today in Australia. Both sides of government appear to support it. The bill targets "providers" of age-restricted platforms, requiring them to take "reasonable steps" to prevent underage (under 16) access. This gets me excited about Nostr: - Nostr doesn't have a centralised provider or entity that could comply with these obligations. - If a relay or instance of Nostr is primarily used for social interactions, it might fall under the "age-restricted social media platform" definition. But without a central entity, enforcing compliance becomes impractical, if not impossible. In short, there's no way (that I'm aware of) to enforce age restrictions or privacy obligations in respect of Nostr. Spread the word.

Can you endure ten years of disappointment with nobody responding to you, or are you thinking that you are going to write a best seller the first crack? If you have the guts to stay with the thing you really want, no matter what happens, well, go ahead.” Then Dad would come along and say, “No, you ought to study law because there is more money in that, you know.” Now, that is the rim of the wheel, not the hub, not following your bliss. Are you going to think of fortune, or are you going to think of your bliss?

Another day, another fuck you to the Australian Government. The newly introduced "Communications Legislation Amendment (Combatting Misinformation and Disinformation) Bill 2024" looks set for approval without much fanfare. My word.

There's a whole part of the internet where women teach other women to become master manipulators in order to extract resources from vulnerable men. Forget love, get that money girlfriend! I'm seeing my boy go through it right now - he's in a dark place and won't accept help. Fuck it. If I can't help him, maybe I can help someone else. Here's 5 signs you're dealing with a manipulative woman. 1. Power Dynamics She showers you with compliments and builds up your confidence in the early stages of dating, but then unexpectedly pulls back emotionally or physically. This tends to happen in cycles (building you up and tearing you down). This is a classic use of power dynamics to manoeuvre you into chasing her approval and giving more in the relationship. Another is to isolate you from friends and family. You become more reliant on her and therefore can't afford to lose her. 2. Targeting your vulnerabilities She is great at identifying and exploiting your weaknesses. For slightly older men (35+), this might include: - Playing on desperation: she sees all your friends are married with kids and that you're eager to settle down with a family. She offers you hope of that, only to take that hope away when it suits her interests. - Exploiting Low Confidence: Older men, especially those inexperienced with women, might feel inadequate in some way. A manipulator uses this to make you pliable or eager to please, especially if you feel a sense that this is your last chance at love or companionship. - Strategic Criticism: Interspersed with moments of validation comes deep criticism (particularly when connected to your insecurities). This makes you constantly work for her approval. 3. Gendered Tactics She might leverage traditional gender roles to gain the upper hand. In particular, one of man's key instincts is to protect and provide. The manipulator might fabricate vulnerabilities (e.g. social anxiety around your friends/family) or crises to elicit your need to help and support. You then offer more resources— usually money, but also time and energy.. 4. Financial and Emotional Extraction - Guilt Tripping: She makes you feel like you're not doing enough, even when you're overextending yourself (financially and emotionally). You then give more. - Crisis Creation: As with the drive to protect, some manipulators create constant drama or crises (health issues, financial problems, emotional breakdowns) to keep you engaged. 5. Avoiding Accountability If you call out her behaviour she avoids responsibility for the fallout of her manipulative actions. She will fight to control the narrative and seek to avoid any blame for any emotional or relational damage done. In short, some women will leverage psychological tactics to maintain control, take advantage of vulnerabilities, and extract resources from their targets, especially men who might be more susceptible due to age, loneliness, or a lack of confidence with women. It's your job as a man to be alert to this and avoid these women.

Australia's govt is looking pretty close to implementing a Digital ID requirement for social media. All in the name of age verification to "protect the kids". This comes after effectively legislating it earlier in the year in the name of convenience and "preventing identity theft". It happens slowly, then all at once. Thank god for #Bitcoin and Nostr.

The 9 to 5 - the daily grind. Many of us working on things that we don’t like doing in order to go on living lives that we don’t like living. Then we encourage our children to do the same thing. We throw them into an education system that leads them into debt and struggling to survive. We’ve been cheated; we were fooled. Isn’t it better to live a short life full of joy and excitement, than a long one living depressed. Live your life now. If money’s the most important thing to you, you’ll spend your life wasting your time. Recognise that success isn't measured solely by financial gain and status, but by the joy and satisfaction you gain from your daily life. Do work that you love and let that work become an expression of your true self.

Working 9 to 5 you don't like it though Give em half your life but when you're there Time is slow Feel stuck Life ran out of luck Others raise your kids Use your cash to pass the buck Working 9 to 5, costs you more than just your time Working 9 to 5, how you lost your friends and wife Working 9 to 5, trading freedom for a screen Working 9 to 5, gave em more than what it seems

In the social media age, every voice must battle for relevance and engagement. Silence is mistaken for ignorance and not having an opinion on any issue is akin to not caring. In the battle to be right, we lose our understanding and compassion. The situation between Israel and its neighbors is complex, rooted in decades of historical and geopolitical entanglements. Similarly, Australia’s upcoming referendum regarding an Indigenous “Voice” to parliament and constitutional recognition is founded upon centuries of perceived mistreatment of Australia’s indigenous people and long running social and economic issues within those communities. It's quite easy to be pulled into the whirlpool of vehement opinions and heated debates, yet what is achieved in that? More often than not, it leads to deeper division. There’s wisdom in not allowing oneself to be swept away by popular discourse. Not every issue or discussion warrants your energy and time. Notice when you’re drawn into matters that drain your spirit or draw you into negativity. Seek to understand rather than to be understood. If you do choose to engage or voice your opinions, do so with kindness and respect. Don’t be a cause of further division in a world quick to judge and slow to understand.