A 🧵 on "home nodes" – become your own cloud, bank and credit card company.

Cypherpunks like to run their own software, from Tor relays to Bitcoin nodes. These projects will likely integrate more in the future.

Some people have bad experiences with cloud services: deplatforming Software authors are getting kicked out of platforms like Github for varied reasons.

Instead of relying on these centralized services, we should reject this model altogether and take control of our data.

(Yes, that includes social networks, I am also using Mastodon)

A 🧵 on energy production and adaptability.

Whatever your opinion on climate change is, some transition from fossil fuels to electric vehicles will happen – either by the ⚡️🚗 becoming a better choice, but more likely by a combination of incentives and regulation. The rise in electric vehicles & shift away from fossil fuels is putting strain on aging energy grids. Blackouts may become more common as demand becomes more volatile.

Additionally, increased use of solar & wind energy means production is also becoming less predictable.

Cypherpunk social networks have always been different from traditional ways of communication. Using nicknames on IRC, communicating in groups based on topics, and expecting pseudonymity or anonymity.

A 🧵 on new social networks. We are moving away from big tech social networks and towards private groups on Signal, Element/Matrix, or even @DarkFiSquad peer-to-peer IRC.

buff.ly/3OTt5uK

buff.ly/3H7I95T

Why parallel economies? A 🧵

Many people are unhappy with the current state of "crony capitalism" where corporations have significant influence over government. And that might even be better than if politicians had the only influence... This is particularly evident in the way that small businesses are burdened by tax regulations and bureaucracy when trying to sell online services on what is supposed to be a "global market".

Back to gamma individuals, this 🧵 is about some characteristics...

Are you a gamma or know one? Do you have anything to add?

1/ Gamma individuals typically don't like to be in positions where they have a superior and often prefer to freelance or run their own business. 2/ They are (somehow) resistant to status games and don't seek out expensive or status-symbolizing items like expensive watches or college degrees.

When they get bored, they will politely disengage from the situation.

Small (or one-person) companies have a number of advantages over large ones, especially in times of crisis.

Smaller firms are more agile and can adapt to changing market conditions more easily.

Be too small to fail!

How? A 🧵 Small companies have fewer fixed costs, like salaries and infrastructure, which makes it easier for them to reduce expenses in the face of declining demand or production issues.

1/ Have you ever heard of "gamma" individuals? They're individuals who refuse to submit to hierarchical structures (we call them "beta"), but also don't feel the need to dominate and become alphas.

A short 🧵 on gammas. 2/ According to researcher Robert Sapolsky, this type of behavior can be observed in baboons. In a group he studied, all the alpha males died and the remaining baboons refused to allow anyone to take on a hierarchical leadership role.

1/20 Twitter is all of a flutter because of FTX. It was an interesting episode, but there are other things happening recently that we should notice (besides other things such as war that are not recent news).

And let's take them for a positive spin.

A 🧵 2/20 The surveillance apparatus is growing. Internet platforms have to report people in EU to their tax offices (in some countries even if they do not finish a trade) and they have to register and ask for permission. In some countries even if selling their old used phone.

How easy it is to "fork-off" from censors in #bitcoin? People commenting on my previous thread seem to think it's easy. Not so fast.

threadreaderapp.com/thread/1327206… Let's start by explaining various types of consensus rules changes. You can make them more strict (also called a soft fork). A soft fork can be introduced by majority of hashpower, nodes have absolutely no say in a soft fork.

A small thread about Bitcoin censorship and why it probably does not need >50% hashrate.

Imagine you are a honest miner that likes Bitcoin. You create your own blocks, with transactions you choose (Stratum v2 for example). You _know_ for sure that 10% of hashrate is censoring transactions according to publicly available blacklist of UTXOs. And they also orphan blocks that include censored transactions.

So you want to be free(er). There are a few stages of what people do when they realize this. It starts by being this in forefront of your consciousness. First stage is despair - I live in a non-free world. This law and that law limits my freedom. And often not only laws. Then you start looking for ways out. Second stage is usually looking for loopholes. Yes, I have to pay custom duty if I import coffee, but if I roast it inside, the duty is lower. If I move my business somewhere else, the taxes are lower and so on.