Michael of St. Joseph 🔏

🪶 I'm a storyteller writing and sharing in common with others ☦️
Also, I like verifiable tech 🔎

Public Key

npub1sfzay2rlm2t3ulekq5f2kyd4ck5kht6u9rxulax6dwe505n6zjqsllpl9u

Profile Code

nprofile1qqsgy3wj9pla49c70umq2y4tzx6ut2tt4awz3nw07ndxhv686fapfqgpz3mhxue69uhhyetvv9ujuerpd46hxtnfduqs6amnwvaz7tmwdaejumr0ds77kyr5

Publishing to

relay.damus.io

nos.lol

Author Public Key

npub1sfzay2rlm2t3ulekq5f2kyd4ck5kht6u9rxulax6dwe505n6zjqsllpl9u

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Last Notes

2026-01-09 21:31:28 UTC

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Completely completely agree. Connecting your mind to paper works so much better. You can always digitize your handwritten stuff later.
#nevent1q…j269

2025-12-20 23:20:17 UTC

If life ever slows down I'd like to check out the #Primal longform article platform more.

2025-12-20 22:34:34 UTC

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I just went back to Amethyst. I like the pop-out into a separate Lightning wallet app more than fiddling with an integrated one.

2025-12-20 21:57:27 UTC

Nostr Wallet Connect with Wallet of Satoshi... How does this work?

2025-12-13 19:36:19 UTC

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Even though Google is taking down the videos, they already trained the models on Disney's material and will never be punished for this.

2025-12-13 19:33:30 UTC

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I've been saying for years that copyright and IP will lose to AI. I have been right every time. IP rewards power, and AI companies are more powerful than media companies with government backing.
#nevent1q…hquv

2025-12-13 16:56:48 UTC

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Maybe modern art isn't so bad after all? I can't help but shed a tear at this beautiful video 🥲
#nevent1q…8yuw

2025-12-11 15:40:13 UTC

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The purpose of a system is what it does

2025-12-08 22:12:24 UTC

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There were several things I liked about Farcaster, but the altcoin gambling attitude and lack of incentive for 3rd parties to build on it turned me away. I'm not a dev, but it seems like the protocol they built wasn't very approachable.

2025-12-07 22:08:25 UTC

I'm not particularly a fan of the new genre of YouTube which is an otherwise real person reading/researching stuff they asked AI about

2025-12-03 21:49:07 UTC

Working on getting a promotion in the fiat mines. If I don't, I'm going to coast 1 more year so my retirement account can vest and then cash out while finding a different job.
Long term goal of starting up a business (either tech related or preferably creative). However, you need some intense start-up capital to achieve this. I did my years of being poor and idealistic; I'd rather take this one step at a time now.

2025-12-03 20:38:32 UTC

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Did you ever get a Zap for this? I sent you one and it doesn't look like it showed up on Nostr...

2025-12-01 00:53:23 UTC

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I think simply requiring a partial payment upfront and then a final payment to recieve the end product could work too

2025-11-30 06:35:21 UTC

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I didn't know you had gotten into gold recently :P

2025-11-27 17:41:24 UTC

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This is how I feel about the Psalms

2025-11-18 16:20:06 UTC

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(And, if I may be so bold, I do believe I have developed a framework for copyright/intellectual property that works in the digital age)
https://michaelofstjoseph.com/ncec

2025-11-18 16:16:04 UTC

@npub1cn4…3vle talks a lot about a coming age where artists and creative, imaginative people are empowered by functional money and innovation. I'm not convinced that will happen, but it would be nice. In his latest livestream he said he might do a keynote speech on this topic. I would be interested to listen to that.
What sent me down this technological and financial rabbit hole was seeing how broken the art/publishing world was. I see creative people being crushed into dust and their energy being drained by corporate overlords, especially when it comes to copyright/intellectual property controls. If Bitcoin can fix the money and Nostr can fix online distribution, this would be a massive step towards realizing Jack's prediction.

2025-11-15 05:38:12 UTC

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I knew they would turn the screws eventually

2025-11-13 18:03:28 UTC

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Crunchy 🍂

2025-11-12 02:52:32 UTC

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(at least, I think they were spammers, that's usually why I would mute someone)

2025-11-12 02:48:32 UTC

Hey, this is pretty neat. I didn't know private mutes had compatibility problems across clients. I used your tool to make the 4 spammers I have muted public instead. Thanks!
#nevent1q…49c0
https://image.nostr.build/5304711e798a767b3aae3ceb815cfc3323693187e32e5bbe228f90d62e581113.png

2025-11-08 14:11:37 UTC

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I've had success with @nprofile…k55v

2025-11-07 21:23:41 UTC

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Nice! I tried setting one up on some old Frankenstein hardware and it always failed to sync... When I get some extra sats I'll buy a dedicated node.

2025-11-06 16:39:06 UTC

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With my limited understanding of Primal, I think they make fair tradeoffs for the sake of usability. However, I could never get their verification to work even if I wanted to. It motivated me to find alternatives, but I'm fairly certain Primal onboarded me back in the day.

2025-11-04 04:12:55 UTC

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I'm pretty sure these are made of plastic 😆

2025-11-03 17:03:35 UTC

If I can get everything setup to sell my books for Bitcoin, I'd like to sell signed copies where I write my name in orange ink 📙✍

2025-11-03 15:58:30 UTC

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They are such a product of the modern mind and of Americanism, if either of those two things pass away then most of the stories told won't make much sense to future people.

2025-11-03 04:56:26 UTC

The devil entered the man who controlled the money box

2025-11-03 03:26:11 UTC

I think within 1 generation most Hollywood movies will be completely incomprehensible to most people.

2025-10-30 20:03:51 UTC

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Dang, I missed it. I just followed them though.

2025-10-30 16:17:24 UTC

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I've never found a clear answer as to what fringe edge-case Core 30 fixes by greatly increasing the OP_RETURN filter. Of course, you can't stop people from embedding data on chain. However, I don't think the answer is to make it much much easier to do so (unless there is an explanation that has escaped me).

2025-10-30 15:50:31 UTC

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At this point I don't really like Core or Knots. I don't want excessive arbitrary data on chain, but I also don't like the doomsday alarmists who think they're gametheory experts at outsmarting states/corpos (who are already buying in to Bitcoin).

2025-10-29 15:50:20 UTC

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Embrace, extend, extinguish
#nevent1q…r3tn

2025-10-27 20:59:52 UTC

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I've already hit the 10 transactions zapping some folks back and forth. Thanks for the insight! You seem especially savvy and not senile at all 😁

2025-10-27 20:56:05 UTC

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Ohhhhhhhh. So I can lightning myself 100k to my Satoshi wallet, then I can mainchain it back to myself? That's freaking weird. I guess I'm still figuring out this lightning stuff. I'm not sure if this is an idiosyncrasy of Lightning or just how Wallet of Satoshi does verification for their domain service or something. Huh.

2025-10-27 19:11:43 UTC

If I transfer the 100,000 sats needed to unlock a custom address on @nprofile…k55v, do I have to keep that liquidity in the wallet? Or is this a one-time thing?

2025-10-25 17:25:16 UTC

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This is incorrect. Christianity is a non-dualistic religion. Evil is a privation of good and has no substance in and of itself. Evil is a movement away from the goodness of God. To say that good can't exist without evil is incorrect. If this were correct it would make God the author of evil.

2025-10-21 21:06:45 UTC

The winning line of today's MSN slop:
"Folks are still going into Costco with an automatic weapon because they're out of cheese whiz," she stressed. https://nostr.download/3a0554f54cc1caa91d5b73a073f8b8356c9c041fe76d589cb10b9af5e6496d9d.jpg https://nostr.download/3a0554f54cc1caa91d5b73a073f8b8356c9c041fe76d589cb10b9af5e6496d9d.jpg

2025-10-20 18:22:26 UTC

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Hmm, from my experience people have not been slow to voice complaints about how much the meals at fundraisers cost, or other such things. The mode of giving has never come up though.
I also attend an Antiochian parish, and if it's easy to see what everyone gives then maybe that isn't as covert as it should be. Ours is a basket, not a plate, and nobody can see what you put in besides the person holding the basket.
I think you do have a point on "interrupting" the service to some degree. It's not something I had ever put much thought into, probably because I've never heard anyone complain about it as I said. I'm sure there are better ways and my parish has always been open to adjusting how we do fundraisers and other such giving events.
We do not attach names to all payments, only for the basic giving commitments formal members have made. This is a spiritual matter as much as it is a financial one, and our priest leads by example every time and gives as much or more than anyone else. Surveillance is not the right word to use, but being a visible member of the community is valuable. I do understand privacy concerns though, (especially in this world).
Being pushy certainly isn't the goal, and it is not something I've seen come up as an issue so your point surprised me a bit. I don't think my parish is married to taking collections in the middle of service and would be open to change if there was a need, but we haven't seen the need ourselves.
Also, concerning the verse you quoted in your original post, I don't think it is as much about giving in secret as it is about not being prideful in what you give. Giving secretly can also be useful, especially if it is an amount that could easily lead to pride. Pretty much every large donation that has ever happened at my Church has been done anonymously for this reason. It's a balance!

2025-10-20 02:58:15 UTC

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I pass the collection basket around at my Church. I've done it for years. I was on our parish ministry council for years. I've never heard of one person complain about feeling bad they were unable to give at that time. I've never heard of one person feel left out for this reason.
Nobody can see how much you put in, only if you put anything in. Do you think the same criticism you have couldn't apply to a offering basket at the entrance? If you are very concerned about other people, you could watch and see who does and does not give.
Giving is also not totally anonymous. There is a basic commitment to give you fill out at my Church to become a member. Obviously you can give more than that, or less if you can't. But it is a named commitment.
It can also serve as a reminder for other people to give. It gives children a chance to give and participate in the service. My Church, until a recent surge in attendance, struggled with finances off and on. If we made even less of an effort to make opportunities for people to give our situation may have been even worse.
Do you feel the same way about a special offerings taken at the end of liturgy? Or only the one in the middle?
It is a fair point you make, but I disagree.

2025-10-19 20:58:10 UTC

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Thanks! I'll check that out. It doesn't look like there's a native Linux client, but the browser version is actually fast.

2025-10-19 20:38:24 UTC

Is there a decent NOSTR app for #Linux desktop? Amethyst is great on #Android but all of the browser clients I have tried on my laptop are laggy.

2025-10-19 19:33:28 UTC

A little angel in my parish service booklet this week https://nostr.download/0d10551b470215b14590b12712ea2ae1a87c64fdc857be750aaf82abf506f37a.jpg

2025-10-16 21:40:05 UTC

I... I think I set up my @nprofile…2rnf correctly? I zapped my first zap to @nprofile…yr6e because he's my news junkie fix atm. Amythest makes it easy to send so hopefully I can also recieve!

2025-10-16 16:12:17 UTC

If you're writing a story and it's supposed to be from a specific character's voice, what is your approach?
Overt voice (narrator uses "I, me, my")
Covert voice (narrator speaks in 3rd person "he, him, his")

2025-10-16 16:10:09 UTC

Many "influencers" and "creators" are simply professional consumers. It is their job to put on a show for things made by other people. This is also why they're so quick to criticize because they have no idea how hard making something really is.

2025-10-16 16:04:34 UTC

Reading Lord of the Rings makes you want to sleep outside under the stars. Although, I've noticed a distinct lack of bugs in Middle Earth.

2025-09-24 03:57:38 UTC

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Make Depression Great Again

2025-09-13 13:54:30 UTC

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The rationale continues to be, "Spam has always been possible, so let's make it easier and less expensive because I personally think it's better this way. I also hope the negative consequences magically go away in the future." This wasn't a convincing argument a few months ago, and it still isn't. Do better.

2025-09-13 02:40:24 UTC

If I believed in free speech, I would voice my opinion on everything.

2025-09-09 23:50:43 UTC

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I still need to read this one from Fr. Seraphim Rose. Thanks for sharing.

2025-08-15 14:44:24 UTC

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Yes. The only realistic way I can see residential blue collar work being automated is if houses are built specifically to be serviced by robots in the future. As it stands, there is no planet where a robot could service existing homes.

2025-08-15 01:20:58 UTC

The arrogance and smugness of most Libertarians kept me from seriously considering Bitcoin for several years. I have seen many other people off put by this attitude. I came to Bitcoin in spite of it, not because of it.
It's possible to be right about Bitcoin and wrong about everything else.

2025-08-14 18:21:30 UTC

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Copyright laws are so draconian and so expansive you are pretty much always in "violation" of something. It's just a matter of whether or not your corporate or government overloads deign to punish you at any given moment. "Fair Use" is a legal joke that depends on court judge interpretations.

2025-08-12 19:03:38 UTC

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It's about an angel on the last day of time and her quest inside a mystical vault-world. There's more on my website!
https://michaelofstjoseph.com/wherethingswent

2025-08-12 18:30:59 UTC

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My health improved dramatically when I accepted that everything I had been told about health and nutrition was a lie. I befriended this bodybuilder online who gave me lots of great advice and I tweaked it from there.
Simply put, it's less about what you DO eat and more about what you DON'T eat.
Do not eat:
any oil besides olive, avacado, & coconut
Soy
Artificial sweetener
Artificial food dye
GMO
Breakfast (unless you do manual labor)

2025-08-12 17:44:42 UTC

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Does it help improve my handwriting? Or is the technology not there yet 😅?

2025-08-12 17:43:23 UTC

I am feeling very positive today. I need to direct this energy into my #manuscript. The second half of my #novel that needs #editing will take a lot of focus, and perhaps more #coffee is needed ☕

2025-08-12 02:30:55 UTC

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Test reply

2025-08-12 02:26:55 UTC

How can I do this exactly?

2025-08-12 02:23:40 UTC

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Why won't my relay work... So annoying.
#nevent1q…xvmg

2025-08-11 16:22:47 UTC

Hmm, I'm trying to add my personal #relay with the wss:// URL after whitelisting my HEX Pubkey... But Amethyst says there's an error. Here's a test I guess!

2025-08-11 15:35:18 UTC

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Those POV swaps are egregious. You clearly line break for a random guard's POV for some useless commentary that could have been nested anywhere else (or omitted entirely). Then you swap back to the woman's POV for a few sentences before swapping AGAIN (without a line break) to a totally different POV. That's crazy.

2025-08-09 18:20:50 UTC

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Amethyst is my favorite client. Whenever I figure out how to connect a lightning address I'm sending some ₿ your way.

2025-08-09 13:39:52 UTC

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I don't have start9 hardware. I just installed start9 on an old PC with spare parts. It's not doing the trick 😅

2025-08-09 13:38:19 UTC

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Funny you say that, I was trying Wallet of Satoshi yesterday. But whenever I went yo create a wallet I was getting an error that told me to try again later...
Also, I was trying to build a node on start9, not Windows (I don't use windows). My old spare computer hardware isn't cutting it though.

2025-08-09 04:05:16 UTC

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

2025-08-08 16:53:33 UTC

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Now that I'm thinking about it, I've only really visited 6 states for any length of time. That's less than I thought. For anyone who answers 1, I respect their contentment.

2025-08-07 14:44:53 UTC

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The new Blockstream app is pretty nice, but I'm no expert on the topic.

2025-08-06 15:21:22 UTC

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I would recommend making your own recording of live discussions as a backup. You never know how someone might try to deceptively edit what you say (especially on a political show). It's probably better that they didn't air it at all.

2025-08-01 14:22:03 UTC

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The Reformed faith is an interpretation put over-top of scripture. You can argue it is derived from scripture, but my original reply outlines how scripture alone is insufficient to determine what scripture is valid or authentic. I once was Reformed as well, I am familiar with the arguments. And I am Orthodox Christian now, so we have no infallible Pope in Rome thankfully!

2025-08-01 13:16:28 UTC

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This presupposes that God's word is *only* scripture (which is not what these verses say). It also presupposes that you are only supposed to use the words in the Bible (which is also not what these verses say).
There is no prescription in scripture for what books are supposed to constitute the Bible. How does one know what books belong in the Bible if the Bible doesn't tell you and you're only allowed to use the Bible to know this?
This makes your last verse very difficult, considering it was written by John before the new Testament was assembled (and perhaps before it was even finished being written). You are ascribing the warning in Revelation to all of the Bible after the fact, thus begging the question.

2025-08-01 03:38:09 UTC

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Is that warning about sola scriptura in the Bible?

2025-07-31 15:28:55 UTC

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).

2025-07-31 15:24:49 UTC

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.

2025-07-31 15:04:48 UTC

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I'm working on my debut #fantasy #novel set in a world I have hand crafted over many years of (slow) development. I hope to have it ready to publish the first half of 2026. It will be 11 years since I first began to conceptualize the story and 5 years since I started writing!
Also, I fully intend on releasing it under an open licensing scheme. I want other people to share and adapt my work. I believe this is better for everyone, financially and otherwise, compared to current #intellectualproperty standards.
Maybe it will be first published on Nostr? Who knows!
#nevent1q…y7es

2025-07-31 14:55:44 UTC

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.

2025-07-31 14:54:01 UTC

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I've been #lurking on Nostr for a little while now. I still haven't re-activated my X account (and I hope I never do). I'm also beginning to see the potential of this protocol.
#nevent1q…jlm6

2025-07-28 14:18:10 UTC

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I would recommend focusing on the onboarding process. Various clients and two different long strings of gibberish keys is a lot for a standard user to take in all at once. I know some other people have discussed follow groups and I think that's a great idea.

2025-07-26 05:15:32 UTC

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A little bit of outside input is good. It helps you know if you're moving in the right direction. Too much early input and idle chitchat spoils progress.

2025-07-25 15:54:13 UTC

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I love this style of coffee cup, I need one.

2025-07-22 05:06:00 UTC

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We need more random book excerpts on Nostr. Thanks for sharing.

2025-07-21 18:40:06 UTC

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I wonder if they're using Farcaster as the protocol for the Base app social media features?

2025-07-18 16:21:18 UTC

I #deactivated my #X #Twitter account again. Hopefully for the last time. I really hate how much time I've wasted on it, always in hopes of it being useful someday. Maybe it's been useful in some ways for me, but it has long outlived what little use I've had for it and now only serves to waste my time and make me feel worse. I have higher hopes for #Nostr but #socialmedia in general has deleterious effects no matter how well-designed it may be.

2025-07-02 20:47:33 UTC

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I didn't know you could buy shares of the MARA CEO. What's his market cap?

2025-07-02 18:40:45 UTC

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Some kind of cherry tomato, right? I forget its actual name...

2025-06-26 21:40:56 UTC

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True, that's why I would charge them a fee for the convenience of IRL help. I think crypto = scam is slowly going to die as BTC alone becomes inevitable.

2025-06-26 18:36:39 UTC

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AI is not beating the world-consuming-monster allegations

2025-06-26 14:55:24 UTC

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

2025-06-24 18:49:58 UTC

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I have predicted (for over a year now) that #AI companies will resoundingly win against any #copyright violations or complaints. I have been proven right at ever step. How did I know this would happen? It's because governments like new technological power more than #art.
#nevent1q…w73m

2025-06-23 21:35:58 UTC

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I'm pretty sure this site has that feature https://nitter.net/

2025-06-18 18:21:56 UTC

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*the reason why there are so FEW alternative clients

2025-06-18 18:20:06 UTC

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

2025-06-16 23:49:46 UTC

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こんばんは！コヒコヒおいしいですか？

2025-06-16 20:19:58 UTC

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

2025-06-12 19:58:15 UTC

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Yep, was just having this conversation with a coworker

2025-06-12 16:18:41 UTC

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

2025-06-10 22:20:01 UTC

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I increased this a bit. And I think TOR is enabled by default which I didn't expect. I'm working on turning that off now.

2025-06-10 22:11:21 UTC

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HDD 🫤

2025-06-10 19:01:15 UTC

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I'm proud to admit I am not a real man