#Cryptocurrency News & Discussion

[furryrun]

CRYPTOAİSİGNALS - PRO+

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[reachartwork]

PLEASE JUST LET ME EXPLAIN REDUX

AI {STILL} ISN'T AN AUTOMATIC COLLAGE MACHINE

I'm not judging anyone for thinking so. The reality is difficult to explain and requires a cursory understanding of complex mathematical concepts - but there's still no plagiarism involved. Find the original thread on twitter here; https://x.com/reachartwork/status/1809333885056217532

A longpost!

This is a reimagining of the legendary "Please Just Let Me Explain Pt 1" - much like Marvel, I can do nothing but regurgitate my own ideas.

You can read that thread, which covers slightly different ground and is much wordier, here; https://x.com/reachartwork/status/1564878372185989120

This longpost will; Give you an approximately ELI13 level understanding of how it works Provide mostly appropriate side reading for people who want to learn Look like a corporate presentation

This longpost won't; Debate the ethics of image scraping Valorize NFTs or Cryptocurrency, which are the devil Suck your dick

WHERE DID THIS ALL COME FROM?

The very short, very pithy version of *modern multimodal AI* (that means AI that can turn text into images - multimodal means basically "it can operate on more than one -type- of information") is that we ran an image captioner in reverse.

The process of creating a "model" (the term for the AI's ""brain"", the mathematical representation where the information lives, it's not sentient though!) is necessarily destructive - information about original pictures is not preserved through the training process.

The following is a more in-depth explanation of how exactly the training process works. The entire thing operates off of turning all the images put in it into mush! There's nothing left for it to "memorize". Even if you started with the exact same noise pattern you'd get different results.

SO IF IT'S NOT MEMORIZING, WHAT IS IT DOING?

Great question! It's constructing something called "latent space", which is an internal representation of every concept you can think of and many you can't, and how they all connect to each other both conceptually and visually.

CAN'T IT ONLY MAKE THINGS IT'S SEEN?

Actually, only being able to make things it's seen is sign of a really bad AI! The desired end-goal is a model capable of producing "novel information" (novel meaning "new").

Let's talk about monkey butts and cigarettes again.

BUT I SAW IT DUPLICATE THE MONA LISA!

This is called overfitting, and like I said in the last slide, this is a sign of a bad, poorly trained AI, or one with *too little* data. You especially don't want overfitting in a production model!

To quote myself - "basically there are so so so many versions of the mona lisa/starry night/girl with the pearl earring in the dataset that they didn't deduplicate (intentionally or not) that it goes "too far" in that direction when you try to "drive there" in the latent vector and gets stranded."

Anyway, like I said, this is not a technical overview but a primer for people who are concerned about the AI "cutting and pasting bits of other people's artworks". All the information about how it trains is public knowledge, and it definitely Doesn't Do That.

There are probably some minor inaccuracies and oversimplifications in this thread for the purpose of explaining to people with no background in math, coding, or machine learning. But, generally, I've tried to keep it digestible. I'm now going to eat lunch.

Post Script: This is not a discussion about capitalists using AI to steal your job. You won't find me disagreeing that doing so is evil and to be avoided. I think corporate HQs worldwide should spontaneously be filled with dangerous animals.

Cheers!

[sexymemecoin]

The Expansive World of Altcoins: Exploring the Diversity Beyond Bitcoin

Bitcoin, the original cryptocurrency, has long dominated headlines and market discussions. However, the world of digital currencies is vast and diverse, with thousands of alternative coins, or altcoins, each offering unique features and value propositions. Altcoins encompass a broad range of projects, from utility tokens and stablecoins to meme coins and more. This article delves into the rich ecosystem of altcoins, highlighting their significance, various types, and the innovative projects that make up this vibrant space, including a mention of Sexy Meme Coin.

Understanding Altcoins

The term "altcoin" refers to any cryptocurrency that is not Bitcoin. These coins were developed to address various limitations of Bitcoin or to introduce new features and use cases. Altcoins have proliferated since the creation of Bitcoin in 2009, each aiming to offer something different, whether it be improved transaction speeds, enhanced privacy features, or specific utility within certain ecosystems.

Categories of Altcoins

Utility Tokens: Utility tokens provide users with access to a specific product or service within a blockchain ecosystem. Examples include Ethereum's Ether (ETH), which is used to power applications on the Ethereum network, and Chainlink's LINK, which is used to pay for services on the Chainlink decentralized oracle network.

Stablecoins: Stablecoins are designed to maintain a stable value by being pegged to a reserve of assets, such as fiat currency or commodities. Tether (USDT) and USD Coin (USDC) are popular stablecoins pegged to the US dollar, offering the benefits of cryptocurrency without the volatility.

Security Tokens: Security tokens represent ownership in a real-world asset, such as shares in a company or real estate. They are subject to regulatory oversight and are often seen as a bridge between traditional finance and the blockchain world.

Meme Coins: Meme coins are a playful and often humorous take on cryptocurrency, inspired by internet memes and cultural trends. While they may start as jokes, some have gained significant value and community support. Dogecoin is the most famous example, but many others, like Shiba Inu and Sexy Meme Coin, have also captured the public's imagination.

Privacy Coins: Privacy coins focus on providing enhanced privacy features for transactions. Monero (XMR) and Zcash (ZEC) are notable examples, offering users the ability to transact anonymously and protect their financial privacy.

The Appeal of Altcoins

Altcoins offer several advantages over Bitcoin, including:

Innovation: Many altcoins introduce new technologies and features, driving innovation within the cryptocurrency space. For example, Ethereum introduced smart contracts, enabling decentralized applications (DApps) and decentralized finance (DeFi) platforms.

Specialization: Altcoins often serve specific niches or industries, providing targeted solutions that Bitcoin cannot. For instance, Ripple (XRP) focuses on facilitating cross-border payments, while Filecoin (FIL) aims to create a decentralized storage network.

Investment Opportunities: The diverse range of altcoins presents numerous investment opportunities. Investors can diversify their portfolios by investing in projects with different use cases and growth potentials.

Notable Altcoins in the Market

Ethereum (ETH): Ethereum is the second-largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization and has become the backbone of the DeFi and NFT (Non-Fungible Token) ecosystems. Its smart contract functionality allows developers to create decentralized applications, leading to a thriving ecosystem of financial services, games, and more.

Cardano (ADA): Cardano is a blockchain platform focused on sustainability, scalability, and transparency. It uses a proof-of-stake consensus mechanism, which is more energy-efficient than Bitcoin's proof-of-work. Cardano aims to provide a more secure and scalable infrastructure for the development of decentralized applications.

Polkadot (DOT): Polkadot is designed to enable different blockchains to interoperate and share information. Its unique architecture allows for the creation of "parachains," which can operate independently while still benefiting from the security and connectivity of the Polkadot network.

Chainlink (LINK): Chainlink is a decentralized oracle network that provides real-world data to smart contracts on the blockchain. This functionality is crucial for the operation of many DeFi applications, making Chainlink a vital component of the blockchain ecosystem.

Sexy Meme Coin: Among the meme coins, Sexy Meme Coin stands out for its combination of humor and innovative tokenomics. It offers a decentralized marketplace where users can buy, sell, and trade memes as NFTs (Non-Fungible Tokens), rewarding creators for their originality. Learn more about Sexy Meme Coin at Sexy Meme Coin.

The Future of Altcoins

The future of altcoins looks promising, with continuous innovation and increasing adoption across various industries. As blockchain technology evolves, we can expect altcoins to introduce new solutions and disrupt traditional systems. However, the market is also highly competitive, and not all projects will succeed. Investors should conduct thorough research and due diligence before investing in any altcoin.

Conclusion

Altcoins represent a dynamic and diverse segment of the cryptocurrency market. From utility tokens and stablecoins to meme coins and privacy coins, each category offers unique features and potential benefits. Projects like Ethereum, Cardano, Polkadot, and Chainlink are leading the way in innovation, while niche coins like Sexy Meme Coin add a layer of cultural relevance and community engagement. As the cryptocurrency ecosystem continues to grow, altcoins will play a crucial role in shaping the future of digital finance and blockchain technology.

For those interested in the playful and innovative side of the altcoin market, Sexy Meme Coin offers a unique and entertaining platform. Visit Sexy Meme Coin to explore this exciting project and join the community.

[missis-maple394]

CURSE UPON YE (Patchouli Knowledge)

DO NOT REPOST / EDIT / TRACE / MONETIZE MY ART FROM OTHER SITES.

Author’s comment:

What an unexpected joke drawing for myself and friends with Touhou Project discussion. I did it for fun and some experimental brushes. Patchouli is my favorite of all Touhou's characters, she's really cute and I love her nightgown, librarian woman. Say, when you go the assets website to download, you saw really cool brushes & sets. You used it once and never picked up it up again. Well, it's time to go back with studies and use of old tools! I have to say; after I've bought CSP V3 stock version to upgrade, I'm pleased with all updates to use some convenient tools. I'm hoping that V4 update to consider facial expressions for 3d heads. My point is that, you've bought CSP's new version to make purpose out of it. You used it once that's already served. It is okay to not used it again, and perhaps if you want inconsistent painting just for fun, you do it for bored and pick it up. Nothing is wrong to stray away your artstyle as long as you're experiencing the studying niche tools, it's great to take a break from your main projects.  That's all I'm talking about, please enjoy my doodling artwork and share your friends. I may not able to do this again but I promise, if I get burned out or curious to do something else; I'll make a funny drawings out of it. Happy Spring!

Author’s note:

DO NOT start a roleplay using direct messages/comments & replies with my artworks.

DO NOT add your playful or direct rudeness to my posts such as replies, comments, hidden tags and private messages.

DO NOT tag and marked as a kin/me/morally questionable content etc. Aesthetic or Inspiration tag is good enough.

DO NOT claim my artworks belong to you, and removing / cropping my watermarks away.

DO NOT sell my art for monetary profit.

DO NOT SUBMIT ANY CRYPTOCURRENCY/NFT ART AND A.I. IMAGE GENERATOR WITH MY COMMISSIONED / PERSONAL ARTWORK.

DO NOT dub my artwork / comics, especially A.I. voicework.

Please DM me for inquiries such as commissioned work or reporting my artwork has been reposted or edited.

[piosplayhouse]

YouTube channel recommendation because I'm shocked this guy isn't more popular:

Jauwn reviews terrible cryptocurrency/nft games from the perspective of an average gamer who doesn't know anything about cryptocurrency on a quest to find the worst of the worst-- he offers hilariously scathing reviews on the games and how useless cryptocurrency is, but while explaining how everything works and exactly why it fails in an extremely understandable way. He's fair and thorough in rating them, so it's a great objective look at how plainly shitty the games are. Also the games are just really funny to look at. ++ No sponsorships on the videos!! So also perfect to listen to while doing art/cooking/working on real game development : ))

[chussyracing]

fresh batch of f1 news and info from the past few days

(side note: i didn't have time to catch up with my fave gossipers so it's just news that made it to media outlets)

Red Bull confirmed they will be paying off Verstappen's fees (and that is a massive amount of money with how many points he scored in 2023)

F2 and F3 drivers may face consequences for purposefully caused red flag in qualifying from 2024 on - it's testing of the new rule which could be later introduced in F1 if it turns out to be decent addition

People from Guiness world record book came to give MCL staff the official certificate for their fastest F1 pit stop ever

Mercedes is in legal exchange with fia (they can sue them for damaged reputation)

Abbi Pulling will continue in F1 Academy with Alpine (she will drive for Rodin Carlin)

Fia gala next yeah will be in Rwanda

there are some rumours about Ferrari livery release date for 2024 being 13th Feb

Este is planning a French civil war for 2024 in the team, because he thinks he has been too nice this year (it will be so much fun)

Gasly said in some Frnch interview that it's not just Alpine where drivers aren't friends and to look at others like Ferrari (lol)

Verstappen is planning to leave F1 in 10 years time at latest (nobody keeps you here king feel free to leave NOW)

Bruno Famin will continue as Alpine's team principal unless he is asked to leave

FIA is considering proposing a standardized floor plank for 2026 onwards

There is a discussion between F1 and FIA about race cap for team workers besides drivers which could be 20 races (meaning no worker could do more than 20 races in a single season)

Ferrari strenghten the partnership with Vista in WEC to introduce Vista AF Corse line up with two Ferrari cars in LMGT3

Alpha Tauri will use pull-rod suspension like Red Bull from 2024 onwards

Pourchaire will drive for Impul in Japanese Super Formula in 2024

FIA partnered with International Esports Federation to fight online abuse which is one of Ben Sulayem's main agenda points

Some FTX cryptocurrency users want to sue Mercedes for promoting a company that went bankrupt (not just Mercedes too but also Brady, Ronaldo, MLB etc.)

Also if you wanna laugh look up the mess of fia gala altogether (the scheduled interviews where only Lewis sat down for, the Lewis trophy saga, Ben Sulayem asked if he supports Ferrari in Le Mans or something and his weird ass response)

Callum Illot will be racing for Team Jota in WEC in 2024

And from fan point of view someone tell me why is Lando cancelled this time (something about onlyfans during his twitch stream and liking single women's posts on instagram?), watch the new c2 challenge (I have 0 expectations but Charles is supposed to giggle a lot there so it can only be a positive surprise) and you can now vote for your overtake of the year

[saturniandevil]

June 2024 Important Dates

AKA my notes on The Astrology Podcast's June Forecast. Cohost Austin Coppock is back, now as a new father!

Notable mundane alignments in May: through May 10th-13th we had intense geomagnetic storms from solar radiation cause auroras over a huge area in the world, happening right as the Sun in Taurus conjoined Uranus (electricity/unexpected) and Jupiter (expansion). On May 19th the president of Iran died in a helicopter crash due officially to poor visibility in foggy mountains (but with assassination suspected), the day Mars conjoined the North Node in Aries (with the Moon opposing them)--a date that Chris & Diana singled out last forecast as hitting eclipse points affecting world leaders & Iran specifically (during the April eclipses Iran fired back at Israel to retaliate for the destruction of its embassy). The ICC arrest warrants were also issued during this Mars-Node conjunction, a continuation of the eclipse story (both in April and October). In the sign of Aries, this is the time when hostilities became overt, and generally the Aries April eclipse was an exalted Sun being eclipsed, boding ill for leaders and heads of state. The North Node is also called "the head of the dragon," so it's fitting that leaders of three countries were affected--especially since these leaders were born under eclipses as well.

In celebrity news, Kendrick Lamar and Drake released a series of diss tracks at each other from late March to early May, also aligning with eclipse season this year. The precursor to this was a line from Like That, released March 22nd under an eclipse in Libra--Kendrick's rising sign. Drake was born after an Aries eclipse, and it was just after the April eclipse that this heated up with his track release. Mars joined the fray entering Aries and that's when the beef really heated up. Mars-Rahu (North Node) contacts indicate fights where parties cross the line because they can't see it, and indeed these shots went below the belt.

On April 30th the DEA announced it may reclassify marijuana as a Schedule III drug, which Chris connects to the Jupiter-Uranus conjunction in Taurus as a sudden change around a medicinal plant. Austin also connects int to Neptune in Pisces--he's been wondering if marijuana will finally be legally recognized before Neptune leaves. Also Uranus in Taurus: BitCoin and Etherium have approved ETFs now, bringing crypto to mainstream investment like retirement funds (Pluto's last peek into Capricorn is connected too, as it was invented when Pluto entered Capricorn in 2009). Also in currency, the BRICS group of nations are discussing bringing in a new currency as an alternative to the US Dollar and cryptocurrency is on the table--these talks also first began in 2009. The next BRICS meeting is in October in Russia, around the time of another eclipse. In other Saturn in Pisces finance news, Red Lobster has gone bankrupt, possibly because they gave away too much free shrimp (limits and seafood; the discussions were taking place during Mars conjunct Saturn in Pisces even though the announcement was under an Aries Mars).

We're going into the month of June just as many planets shift into Gemini, a key signature for the month. We've had one stellium after another this year, but that trend will change as June wraps up.

June 2nd - Jupiter trine retrograde Pluto In Gemini this is good for travel, such as Boeing launching a new spacecraft (right before Mercury enters Gemini). This aspect is great for enabling Pluto's Aquarian endeavors like transformative new technologies or sci-fi...but mileage may vary for Jupiter. Chris relates this to voice AI translations opening up communication as Jupiter transits Gemini. With Mercury nearby, this month has a tone of trying a little bit of many different things, generally with positive growth and stability in the Gemini parts of our charts. Jupiter is also bound, decan, and triplicity ruler of the early part of the Gemini and has lots of power here. It's a great time to learn enough of something to do what you need with it, rather than pursuing deep expertise.

June 3rd - Mercury enters Gemini, Auspicious election

Taking advantage of Mercury in Gemini this chart is at about 12:05PM local time. You'll want early Virgo rising and Mercury on the degree of the Midheaven at 0-1 Gemini. This places the Ascendant ruler (most important planet in elections) both in domicile and applying to a conjunction with Jupiter at 2 Gemini. In the 10th house this emphasizes career, reputation and work. Mercury, Jupiter, and Pluto form a trine which bodes well for communication and technology, and is furthermore close in date to the Venus cazimi (exact conjunction to Sun) in the middle of Gemini. The Moon is exalted in the 10th house and applies to a trine with Saturn in Pisces. Overall this is great not only for career matters, but also communication, short travel, and other Mercury matters. This is one of the last days this week while Mercury will be visible, so there's a small window to take advantage of this auspicious Mercury-Jupiter conjunction.

June 4th - Mercury conjunt Jupiter, Sun conjunct Venus Also known as a Venus cazimi, the Venus-Sun exact conjunction marks a reset point in Venus's synodic cycle and a new epoch for Venusian themes, including women in society. Interestingly, Mexico's election is in early June with two female candidates (spoiler alert: a woman won!), and the Venus synodic cycle was been central to Mesoamerican astrology in the past--the 2012 news was due in part to a calendar marking these calculations. Mexico's inauguration takes place in September on a Mercury cazimi in Libra (Venus-ruled sign) and the day before a solar eclipse in Libra. Four years ago in June 2020 the Sun conjoined Venus during Black Lives Matter protests after George Floyd's and Breonna Taylor's murders, connecting Venus cazimi to questions of equality and fairness in society. However, a square from Saturn in Pisces days later brings obstacles to our hope. In fact, all the Gemini planets will go through this optimism & speed before hitting Pisces Saturn's big melancholy iceberg this month. The last Venus-Sun conjunction in Gemini was June of 2016, so it's a good time to look back and see how far we've come over the past 8 years, as well as to sow the seeds for a new cycle. With Venus invisible during a cazimi, much of this work is internal; similarly, often the biggest advancements made possible during these times isn't visible until later.

On this graph of Venus's synodic cycle we're at the superior conjunction, where Venus is obscured from us by going behind the Sun. Her conjunctions when retrograde are also important turning points--April 2025 is the next conjunction (in Aries).

June 6th - New Moon in Gemini

At this point Mercury is already separating from the conjunction with Jupiter but is still close, while the Sun, Moon, and Venus are all conjunct at 16 Gemini. Thus the Gemini stellium is really concentrated at this lunation. We have so many new beginnings in Gemini on different scales at this time; the events set into motion here won't go away when planets move into Cancer. Whatever was brought up by the cazimi on the 4th will continue here, though in mid-Gemini the lights & Venus are poised to square Saturn. Venus wants to connect people, while Saturn wants to push away, so the immediate aftermath of the New Moon may see cooling in relationships. Communication is important; can we address the obstacle hanging over us? Sometimes you can't talk your way out of the emotions freezing each other out. On a positive note, this can be productive for setting boundaries and expectations. Saturn in Pisces generally can indicate emotional, professional, or spiritual exhaustion: now's the time to take a rest and a step back. Darkness and silence are often needed for mental healing to begin.

June 9th - Mars enters Taurus This brings a tone shift, as Mars was activating eclipse points while he traversed Aries in April in May. On the 11th he'll immediately square Pluto (1♒), raising issues like the abusive of power, going overboard in conflict, and crossing the line because we can't see it. We can see disproportionate escalations where the person doesn't even really know why they did it, but also the very real power of those who aren't in the public eye, pulling strings behind the scenes. Mars-Pluto brings up control, manipulation, power plays, and covert actions--and the paranoia that makes us worry about these things when they're not there. Though an unpleasant introduction, this doesn't last for most of the sign.

As soon as he enters Taurus Mars also approaches a conjunction with Uranus (culminating in mid-July). We've had Jupiter transiting Taurus for the past year bringing a positive spin on events, but now we have the explosive tension on its own. A famous Mars-Uranus conjunction without Jupiter there was January 6th events. However, there are about 20 degrees between the Pluto and Uranus aspects, during which time Mars will make some nice sextiles to Mercury and Venus in Cancer, so we'll have a chill period for some time. Mars in Taurus is also generally less fiery (in detriment), which can be an advantage for us.

June 14th - Mercury conjunct Sun (cazimi) At 24 Gemini, this is the fourth and final peak/reset point in Gemini. In his home sign, Mercury really locks in the preceding resets. This also really marks the second half of the year where we won't have all these massive pileups in one particular sign. He also brushes past a square to Neptune (29♓) while conjoining Venus in the last 10 minutes of this sign. Beware of miscommunications.

June 17th - Venus and Mercury enter Cancer, Mercury conjunct Venus Venus and Mercury enter Cancer together, bringing communication and relationships together. Both planets are invisible at this point, but are working their way out from under the Sun's beams as evening stars and will be visible by the end of the month. Mercury-Venus connects our minds with the arts, giving us the technical know-how to implement aesthetic ideas and the charm to communicate our ideas in a beautiful way. Diplomacy and agreements are also signified here.

June 20th - Sun enters Cancer

June 21st - Full Moon in Capricorn

This lunation occurs just a day after the Sun's ingress into Cancer and right after Mercury & Venus sextiling Mars, bringing a great directness and mental acuity. Once in Capricorn the Moon begins applying to Venus, though Neptune's proximity to the cardinal signs means its square to all the Cancer/Capricorn planets weighs in on things. Saturn has also begun to move within conjunction distance of Neptune, bringing questions around what's real and what's not to the end of June and into July. Some of the clarity we had before will seem to dissolve. We saw a lot of new tech developments earlier this month, but now it's muddied the waters.

June 29th - Saturn stations Retrograde This will likely activate news stories around danger in the water, water-borne pathogens, and events like the submarine disaster (A/N: or naval blockades). Jupiter will also square Saturn and later Neptune later this summer (Saturn entering Pisces corresponded with a spike in inflation) so continued issues with inflation and economy will likely come into play. Neptune stations within a week of Saturn as well, intensifying these issues and bringing what Austin calls season 2 of the Saturn-Neptune story--though season 3 is where things will get really crazy. This is another indicator of what kinds of contraction we'll experience in the Pisces parts of our charts. Saturn doesn't leave Pisces until next year, and even after entering Aries he'll retrograde back into Pisces for a bit.

[canmom]

since this seems to be my topic of obsession for today...

turns out Bluesky internally uses content-based addressing and IPFS. I don't have a lot of use for it since it's a Twitter clone, and I've never got on very well with Twitter. Bluesky hides most of that from the user - it looks just like any old web app backed by a central server. i need to look into this more, Bluesky is taking inspiration from IPFS but it's using its own protocol, and it is doing some good things. I think its protocols could be used for something more Tumblr-like.

there's a protocol called PubSub which sounds like it does a lot of what I want, or rather gives you the low-level framework to broadcast info across a decentralised network. you could build a social network on top of that. IPFS uses it as one way of handling mutable data, like 'my website just updated'.

there's an absolute plethora of ideas, protocols, and tools for decentralised file sharing, decentralised messaging, decentralised social networks. this broad idea space is very much the hot new thing at the moment. some of them seem like they're growing. a lot of them have glossy websites with animations and stock photos of smiling people. it's hard to know in advance what's worth paying attention to. the whole field is dense with acronyms and rather abstruse concepts. which unfortunately means the current audience tends to be limited to tech nerds (c'est moi) and crypto cultists (ce n'est pas moi. merde!).

Briar is a protocol I find personally very appealing. it's security-oriented, designed to be crazy resilient, creating a mesh network through whatever protocols are available. you use it for E2E-encrypted messaging, but also you can use it for threaded discussions and blogs. right now it's only available for phones but they're working on a desktop version. the primary use case seems to be like "you're at a protest and the gov shuts off the internet", but it would be a very sexy place to put your blog. that said, I expect it would not be very fast at all.

the major encryptable, decentralised Discord/IRC alternative is Matrix. I broadly like the look of it, but we have the same problem of inertia getting people to switch from Discord, and there's still some jank I encountered when I tried it.

there's a lot of cryptocurrency in this whole area. (not surprising since the underlying tech of crypto is also hash-based, and there's ideological overlap between crypto and torrent people, because 'decentralised').

notably, there's a companion project to IPFS, a complicated scheme called FileCoin which is designed to encourage people to host data for a certain period in return for FileCoin tokens. you get FileCoins for consistently holding onto the data, and you lose a stake of FileCoins if you delete it prematurely. these FileCoins can then be used mainly to pay other people to host data for you: you pay FileCoins to a host, and pay them again to fetch your data(!). or you can trade them for other cryptocurrencies.

I'll acknowledge it doesn't seem as intrinsically environmentally corrosive as proof-of-work crypto, or even as simply 'the rich get richer' as proof-of-stake crypto. it's not filling up HDDs with random crap either. though it does sound like it requires quite a bit of CPU work to be done in all the hashing for the 'sealing' process.

I'm still not entirely convinced of the benefit this scheme brings. crypto stuff has a tendency to go belly-up very abruptly when speculative bubbles pop, so I wouldn't be super excited to rely on FileCoin for archiving some valuable bit of data. of course any offsite backup carries risk, e.g. Dropbox could go bankrupt one day. but I'm way less convinced of the benefits of something like FileCoin than IPFS. I guess it remains to be seen if this takes off.

[justinspoliticalcorner]

Jill Colvin, Colleen Long, and Lindsay Whitehurst at AP, via HuffPost:

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. (AP) — Donald Trump was the target Sunday of “what appears to be an attempted assassination” at his golf club in West Palm Beach, Florida, the FBI said, just nine weeks after the Republican presidential nominee survived another attempt on his life. The former president said he was safe and well, and authorities held a man in custody. U.S. Secret Service agents posted a few holes up from where Trump was playing noticed the muzzle of an AK-style rifle sticking through the shrubbery that lines the course, roughly 400 yards away. An agent fired and the gunman dropped the rifle and fled in an SUV, leaving the firearm behind along with two backpacks, a scope used for aiming and a GoPro camera, Palm Beach County Sheriff Ric Bradshaw said. The man was later taken into custody in a neighboring county.

It was the latest jarring moment in a campaign year marked by unprecedented upheaval. On July 13, Trump was shot during a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, and a bullet grazed his ear. Eight days later, Democratic President Joe Biden withdrew from the race, giving way for Vice President Kamala Harris to become the party’s nominee. And it was sure to add to the questions about Secret Service protective operations after the agency’s admitted failures in preventing the attempted assassination of Trump this summer. In an email to supporters, Trump said: “There were gunshots in my vicinity, but before rumors start spiraling out of control, I wanted you to hear this first: I AM SAFE AND WELL!” He wrote: “Nothing will slow me down. I will NEVER SURRENDER!”

He returned to Mar-a-Lago, his private club in Palm Beach where he lives, according to a person familiar with Trump’s movements who was not authorized to discuss them publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity. It was not immediately clear whether the incident would affect his campaign schedule. He was set to speak from Florida about cryptocurrency live on Monday night on the social media site X for the launch of his sons’ crypto platform. He planned a town hall Tuesday in Flint, Michigan, with his former press secretary, Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders, followed by a rally Wednesday on New York’s Long Island.

[...] The Florida golf course was partially shut down for Trump as he played, but there are several areas around the perimeter of the property where golfers are visible from the fence line. Secret Service agents and officers in golf carts and on ATVs generally secure the area several holes ahead and behind Trump when he plays. Agents also usually bring an armored vehicle onto the course to shelter Trump quickly should a threat arise. The Palm Beach County sheriff said the entire golf course would have been lined with law enforcement if Trump were the president, but because he is not, “security is limited to the areas that the Secret Service deems possible.”

Yesterday, Donald Trump was the target of an apparent assassination attempt at his Trump International Golf Club. This is the 2nd assassination attempt against him this campaign cycle, just over two months after the assassination attempt in Butler, PA.

[upprahfunnel]

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[mostlysignssomeportents]

Ian McDonald's "Hopeland"

Tonight (May 30) at 6:30PM, I’m at the NOTTINGHAM Waterstones with my novel Red Team Blues, hosted by Christian Reilly (MMT Podcast).

Tomorrow (May 31) at 6:30PM, I’m at the MANCHESTER Waterstones, hosted by Ian Forrester.

Then it’s London, Edinburgh, and Berlin!

Have you ever read a novel that was so good you almost felt angry at it? I mean, maybe that’s just me, but there is one author who consistently triggers my literary pleasure centers so hard that I get spillover into all my other senses, and that’s Ian McDonald, who has a new novel out: Hopeland:

https://us.macmillan.com/books/9780765375551/hopeland

Seriously what the fuck is this amazing, uncategorizable, unsummarizable, weird, sprawling, hairball of a novel? How the hell do you research — much less write — a novel this ambitious and wide-ranging? Why did I find myself weeping uncontrollably on a train yesterday as I finished it, literally squeezing my chest over my heart as it broke and sang at the same moment?

Hopeland is a climate novel, and it’s not McDonald’s first. Hearts, Hands and Voices (published in the US as The Broken Land) is a climate novel (that also happens to be about the Irish Troubles). So is his stunning debut, Desolation Road, which I picked up at a mall bookstore in 1988 and lost my mind over:

https://memex.craphound.com/2009/07/02/ian-mcdonalds-brilliant-mars-book-desolation-road-finally-back-in-print/

But those were climate novels written in the early stages of the discussion of the gravity of the anthropocene, and so climate change was more setting than anything else. In Hopeland, the climate is more of a character — not a protagonist, but also not a minor character.

The true stars of Hopeland are members of two ancient, secret societies. There’s Raisa Hopeland, who belongs to a globe-spanning, mystical “family,” that’s one part mutual aid, one part dance music subculture, and one part sorcerer (some Hopelanders are electromancers, making strange, powerful magic with Tesla coils).

We meet Raisa as she is racing across London in a bid to win a rare, open electromancer title. She is on the brink of losing, but then a passerby pitches in to help: Amon Brightborne, part of another mystical family whose stately, odd manor in the English countryside can only be reached by people who can work the “gateway,” which makes the road disappear and reappear. Amon is a composer and DJ who specializes in making music for very small groups of people — preferably just one person — that is so perfect for them that they are transformed by hearing it.

Amon’s intervention in Raisa’s bid for electromancy unites these two formerly disjoint families, entwining their destinies just as the world is forever changing, thanks to the decidedly un-magical buildup of CO2 and other greenhouse gasses in our atmosphere. They have a romance, a breakup, a child. They are scattered to opposite ends of the Earth — Iceland and a tiny Polynesian island.

Their lives are electrified. Literally. On her passage to Iceland, Raisa confronts a ship-destroying megastorm, speaks its true name, and sends it away before it can sink the container ship — captained by a Hopelander who gives her free passage — that she is sailing on. In Iceland, she falls in with more Hopelanders, tapping a thermal vent to create a greenhouse cannabis farm, which begets a luxury salad greens business, then an electricity plant that attracts cryptocurrency weirdos like shit draws flies.

Amon, meanwhile, is sinking into drunken ruin on his island paradise, where he becomes a kind of mascot for the locals, who respect his musical prowess. The island is sinking, both figuratively and literally, as its offshore king, hiding in a luxury mansion in Sydney, drains its aquifers for the luxury bottled water market and loots its treasuries to fund his own high lifestyle.

McDonald takes a long time getting to this point. This is a 500 page novel, and the build to this setup takes nearly 300 of them. Every word of that setup is gold. McDonald’s prose often veers into poetry, or at least poesie, and he has this knack for seemingly superfluous vignettes and detours that present as self-indulgences but then snap into place later as critical pieces of a superbly turned narrative. How the fuck does he do it?

How does he do it? How does he deliver a sense of such vastness, a world peopled by vastly different polities and populations, distinctly different without ever being exoticized, each clearly the hero of their own story, whether they live on a tiny island or captain an American battleship?

I mean, cyberpunk — the tradition McDonald most obviously belongs to — was always about a post-American future, but no one ever managed it the way McDonald did. He delivered a superb, complex, Indian future in 2004’s River of Gods:

https://memex.craphound.com/2004/06/12/ian-mcdonalds-brilliant-new-novel-river-of-gods-bollywoodpunk/

And then did the same in Brazil with 2007’s Brasyl:

https://memex.craphound.com/2007/04/30/ian-mcdonalds-brasyl-mind-altering-cyberpunk-carioca/

And Turkey in 2011’s Dervish House, a novel of mystical nanofuturism set in an Istanbul that is so vividly drawn that you feel like you can reach through the page and touch it:

https://memex.craphound.com/2010/07/12/ian-mcdonalds-dervish-house-superb-novel-of-the-mystical-nano-future-of-istanbul/

Those were ambitious books, but Hopeland puts them to shame. It draws on so many threads — music and art, climate justice, mysticism, electrical engineering, economics, gender politics — and has such a huge cast of finely drawn characters. By all rights, it should collapse under its own weight. I mean, seriously — who can write multi-page passages describing imaginary music and make it riveting?

McDonald is just so damned good at writing love-letters to places that turn them into characters in their own right. The first third of Hopeland treats London that way, bringing it to gritty life in the manner of Michael de Larrabeiti’s classic Borribles trilogy:

https://memex.craphound.com/2014/01/16/the-borribles-are-back/

Or, for that matter, China Miéville’s debut novel King Rat, itself out in a fancy new Tor Essentials edition with an introduction by Tim Maughan, who absolutely bullseyes the appeal of Miéville’s novel of underground music, mystical societies and urbanism:

https://us.macmillan.com/books/9781250862501/kingrat

(It shouldn’t surprise you to learn that Miéville is a giant Borribles fan:)

https://www.tor.com/2014/03/13/the-borribles-excerpt-introduction-china-mieville/

I have loved Ian McDonald’s work since I picked up Desolation Road in that mall bookstore when I was 17. One of the absolute highlights of my writing career was writing an introduction for the 2014 reissue of Out On Blue Six, a book that mashes up David Byrne’s solo projects, Orwell’s Nineteen Eighty-Four, Huxley’s Brave New World, and Dick’s Do Androids Dream in a madcap dystopian comedy:

https://memex.craphound.com/2014/01/20/out-on-blue-six-ian-mcdonalds-brilliant-novel-is-back/

I’ve read everything I could find about how he manages these giant, weird, intricately constructed novels, like this fascinating 2010 interview about his research process:

https://web.archive.org/web/20100726181934/http://www.cclapcenter.com/2010/07/an_interview_with_ian_mcdonald.html

But despite it all, I find myself continuously baffled by how manages it, but each book just stabs me. For one thing, he’s such a good remix artist. His three-volume, essential retelling of Heinlein’s The Moon Is a Harsh Mistress starts with Luna: New Moon (2015):

https://memex.craphound.com/2015/09/22/ian-mcdonalds-luna-new-moon-the-moon-is-a-much-much-harsher-mistress/

Which substantially out-Heinleins Heinlein, adding thickness and rigor to the tropes Heinlein tossed in as throwaways. Then, he topped himself with the sequel, Luna: Wolf Moon (2017):

https://memex.craphound.com/2017/03/28/ian-mcdonald-returns-to-the-harshest-mistress-in-luna-wolf-moon/

Before bringing it all in for a screaming landing that tied up the hundreds of threads he pulled on in the course of the previous two volumes with the conclusion, Luna: Moon Rising (2019):

https://memex.craphound.com/2019/05/16/luna-moon-rising-in-which-ian-mcdonald-brings-the-trilogy-to-an-astounding-intricate-exciting-and-satisfying-climax/

In each volume, McDonald proved — over and over — that he understood precisely what Heinlein was trying to do, then outdid him, and, in so doing, shredded Heinlein’s solipsitic, simplistic, seductive argument about a libertarian utopia.

Perhaps this is McDonald’s greatest gift: his ability to rework others’ ideas, tropes and tales, without ever trying to hide his influences, and then vastly outdoing them. That’s certainly what was going on with his wild-ass, deiselpunk YA trilogy, which started with 2011’s Planesrunner:

https://memex.craphound.com/2011/12/06/planesrunner-ian-mcdonalds-ya-debut-is-full-of-action-packed-multidimensional-cool-airships-electropunk-and-quantum-physics/

One important McDonaldism: being deadly serious about his whimsy. The books are all very whimsical, but never frivolous. To get a sense of what I mean here, consider his 1992 graphic novel Kling Klang Klatch, a deadly serious comic book about the Klu Klux Klan, told entirely through adorable teddybears in a noir cityscape, whose dialog is heavily salted with Tom Waits lyrics:

https://memex.craphound.com/2004/01/24/ian-mcdonalds-kling-klang-klatch/

No, really. And it’s fantastic.

Back to Hopeland. It’s a climate novel, because what else could you write in this time of polycrisis? The book is vast enough to convey the scale of the crisis. The storms that ravage the world are both personified and realized, a terror to compare to any literary monster or Cthuhoid entity. But it’s called Hopeland for a reason, because it’s a book about hope, not nihilism, a book about confronting the crisis, a book about solidarity and love, about overcoming difference, about challenging the way things “just are.”

That’s why I was crying and holding my heart yesterday on the train. The hope. What a ride.

One of the reasons I was in such a hurry to read this novel now is that I’m appearing on a panel with McDonald this coming Saturday, June 3, at Edinburgh’s Cymera festival, along with Nina Allen, author of the new novel Conquest:

https://www.cymerafestival.co.uk/cymera23-events/2023/4/4/connection-interrupted-with-nina-allan-cory-doctorow-and-ian-mcdonald

I’m so looking forward to it. I’ve written a couple dozen books since I read my first McDonald novel as a teenager, and while I still have no idea how McDonald does it, there’s something of his work in every one of my books.

Catch me on tour with Red Team Blues in Nottingham, Manchester, London, and Berlin!

If you'd like an essay-formatted version of this thread to read or share, here's a link to it on pluralistic.net, my surveillance-free, ad-free, tracker-free blog:

https://pluralistic.net/2023/05/30/electromancy/#the-grace

[Image ID: The cover for the Tor Books edition of 'Hopeland.']

[postmodernmulticoloredcloak]

From La Stampa (translated from Italian):

“Make Finance Great Again,” Trump family makes its own cryptocurrency and allies with Silicon Valley It will be called “World Liberty Financial,” will have tech investors and real estate developers from Chase Herro and Zak Folkman to Steve Witkoff inside. Sons Eric and Donald Jr. will coordinate. And his backer Tyler Winklevoss jokes, “Donald has been orange-pilled, indoctrinated.” Jacopo Iacoboni Sept. 17, 2024 Updated 11:00 a.m. 3 minutes of reading

They want to do a kind of “make finance great again,” along the lines of MAGA, the election slogan and the Make America Great Again campaign. Donald Trump's sons, Don Jr. and Eric, of course with their father's imprimatur, are about to launch a new cryptocurrency platform that will be called “World Liberty Financial,” and will allow users to make even massive transactions without a bank getting in the way and extracting fees (and with a very low level of tax tracking, it should be added). A couple of concepts familiar to bitcoin fans, for example, but which the Trump family now has ambitions to decline on a large scale. It is not certain that this marriage between Trumpism and decentralized finance, DeFi, is a harbinger of only positive developments. The board of “World Liberty Financial” will also consist of former crypto investors such as Chase Herro and Zak Folkman, and Steve Witkoff, a real estate developer and old friend of Trump. But thanks to documents filed with the U.S. Federal Election Commission that we have been able to read we know that in general the entire Trump campaign - Make America Great Again Inc. - received money not only from Musk, but cryptocurrency from billionaire twins Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss, who lead the cryptocurrency company Gemini: about $3.5 million in Bitcoin on July 19, the day after Trump's speech at the Milwaukee convention. The Winkelvosses also poured in money to America PAC, the tech investor-backed group that Musk helped launch in 2024 (Trump had bragged that Musk was giving him $45 million a month; Musk said his contribution is “at a much lower level”). Another co-founder of a cryptocurrency exchange, Jesse Powell, boss of Kraken, and venture capitalists Marc Andreessen and Ben Horowitz (who created a16z) who have invested billions of dollars in cryptocurrency startups, have also made endorsements and poured money into Trump. In short, for the Trump family to embark on this big cryptocurrency project is a natural consequence of the fact that these are almost becoming a Republican asset in the campaign, and the “libertarian” wing of the old Gop is now a kind of very, very rampant ideologized “cyberlibertarianism.” The real boss of the “tech bros” according to many is not Elon Musk, but Peter Thiel. Zuckerberg's longtime partner in Facebook, co-founder of PayPal, Thiel's fortune has at least doubled during the Trump presidency. Palantir-a much-discussed software company variously accused of extracting data from Americans and profiling them-has managed to get a contract from the Pentagon. Other donors to MAGA Inc include Jacob Halberg, Palantir's princely analyst, and Trish Duggan, a wealthy Scientology funder and friend of the tech bros. Trump's vice presidential candidate, J. D. Vance, traveled to Silicon Valley and the Bay Area, celebrating a dinner at the home of BitGo CEO Mike Belshe, 100 people each pouring in between $3,300 a plate and a $25,000 roundtable. Trump in 2021 called bitcoin a “fraud against the dollar.” A few weeks ago, speaking in Nashvill at the bitcoin fan conference, he promised, “The United States will become the crypto capital of the planet.” Better than his friend Putin's Russia, although this Trump did not say so explicitly. The fact is that after his speech, Tyler Winklevoss ran on X (now the realm of cyberlibertarians) and joked that Donald had been “orange-pilled,” making a Matrix analogy, had been “indoctrinated,” or had finally seen the real reality behind the appearances.

[warningsine]

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. (AP) — Donald Trump was the target Sunday of “what appears to be an attempted assassination” at his golf club in West Palm Beach, Florida, the FBI said, just nine weeks after the Republican presidential nominee survived another attempt on his life. The former president said he was safe and well, and authorities held a man in custody.

U.S. Secret Service agents posted a few holes up from where Trump was playing noticed the muzzle of an AK-style rifle sticking through the shrubbery that lines the course, roughly 400 yards away.

An agent fired and the gunman dropped the rifle and fled in an SUV, leaving the firearm behind along with two backpacks, a scope used for aiming and a GoPro camera, Palm Beach County Sheriff Ric Bradshaw said. The man was later taken into custody in a neighboring county.

It was the latest jarring moment in a campaign year marked by unprecedented upheaval. On July 13, Trump was shot during a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, and a bullet grazed his ear. Eight days later, Democratic President Joe Biden withdrew from the race, giving way for Vice President Kamala Harris to become the party’s nominee.

And it was sure to add to the questions about Secret Service protective operations after the agency’s admitted failures in preventing the attempted assassination of Trump this summer.

In an email to supporters, Trump said: “There were gunshots in my vicinity, but before rumors start spiraling out of control, I wanted you to hear this first: I AM SAFE AND WELL!” He wrote: “Nothing will slow me down. I will NEVER SURRENDER!”

He returned to Mar-a-Lago, his private club in Palm Beach where he lives, according to a person familiar with Trump’s movements who was not authorized to discuss them publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity.

It was not immediately clear whether the incident would affect his campaign schedule. He was set to speak from Florida about cryptocurrency live on Monday night on the social media site X for the launch of his sons’ crypto platform. He planned a town hall Tuesday in Flint, Michigan, with his former press secretary, Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders, followed by a rally Wednesday on New York’s Long Island.

Trump’s running mate, Ohio Sen. JD Vance, said in a post online: “I’m glad President Trump is safe. I spoke to him before the news was public and he was, amazingly, in good spirits.”

Biden and Harris were briefed and would be kept updated on the investigation. The White House said they were “relieved” to know Trump is safe.

Harris, in a statement, also said “violence has no place in America.”

In the aftermath, Trump checked in with allies, including Vance, South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham and several Fox News hosts.

Fox News host Sean Hannity recounted on air his conversation with Trump and the former president’s golf partner, Steve Witkoff.

They told Hannity they had been on the fifth hole and about to go up to putt when they heard a “pop pop, pop pop.” Within seconds, he said Witkoff recounted, Secret Service agents “pounced on” Trump and “covered him” to protect him.

Trump had returned to Florida this weekend from a West Coast swing that included a Friday night rally in Las Vegas and a Utah fundraiser. His campaign had not advised about any public plans for Trump on Sunday. He often spends the morning playing golf, before having lunch at the club, one of three he owns in the state.

He has had a stepped-up security footprint since the assassination attempt in July. When he has been at Trump Tower in New York, parked dump trucks have formed a wall outside the building. At outdoor rallies, he now speaks from behind an enclosure of bulletproof glass.

The Florida golf course was partially shut down for Trump as he played, but there are several areas around the perimeter of the property where golfers are visible from the fence line. Secret Service agents and officers in golf carts and on ATVs generally secure the area several holes ahead and behind Trump when he plays. Agents also usually bring an armored vehicle onto the course to shelter Trump quickly should a threat arise.

The Palm Beach County sheriff said the entire golf course would have been lined with law enforcement if Trump were the president, but because he is not, “security is limited to the areas that the Secret Service deems possible.”

“I would imagine that the next time he comes to the golf course, there will probably be a little more people around the perimeter,” Bradshaw said. “But the Secret Service did exactly what they should have done, they provided exactly what the protection should have been and their agent did a fantastic job.”

Former presidents and their spouses have Secret Service protection for life, but the security around former presidents varies according to threat levels and exposure, with the toughest typically being in the immediate aftermath of their leaving office.

Trump’s protective detail has been higher than some other former presidents because of his high visibility and his campaign to seek the White House again.

The man in custody was Ryan Routh, three law enforcement officials told the AP. The officials who identified the suspect spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the ongoing investigation.

The FBI was leading the investigation and was working to determine any motive. Attorney General Merrick Garland was receiving regular updates. Agents with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives were helping investigate.

“The FBI has responded to West Palm Beach Florida and is investigating what appears to be an attempted assassination of former President Trump,” the bureau said.

News reporters were not with Trump on Sunday. Bucking tradition, Trump’s campaign has not arranged to have a protective pool of reporters travel with him, as is standard for major party nominees and for the president. Harris does not have a protective pool at all times, but does allow reporters to travel with her for public events.

Martin County Sheriff William D. Snyder said the suspect was apprehended within minutes of the FBI, Secret Service and Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office putting out a “very urgent BOLO” — or “be on the lookout” alert detailing the specific vehicle sought, license plate number and description of the occupant.

Snyder said his deputies “immediately flooded” northbound I-95, deploying to every exit between the Palm Beach County line to the south and St. Lucie County line to the north.

“One of my road patrol units saw the vehicle, matched the tag and we set up on the vehicle,” Snyder said, “We pinched in on the car, got it safely stopped and got the driver in custody.”

Snyder told WPTV that the suspect “was not armed when we took him out of the car.”

The man had a calm, flat demeanor and showed little emotion when he was stopped by police, Snyder said, saying the suspect did not question why he was being pulled over.

“He never asked, ‘what is this about?’ Obviously, law enforcement with long rifles, blue lights, a lot going on. He never questioned it,” Snyder said.

[mariacallous]

Truth Social, former president Donald’s Trump’s clone of Twitter, has a fraction of the users of competitors like Reddit and X. The company has never turned a profit, and just happens to be the place where Trump is currently posting.

But on the Nasdaq, the stock exchange where Truth Social became a publicly traded company today, there's a different story: Truth Social has become a certified meme stock. Trump supporters seem to have conflated their support for the former president with the stock itself, and are buying en masse.

The stock quickly rose more than 40 percent after being listed and trades under a ticker of Trump’s initials, DJT. The company is now valued at more than $6.8 billion. The value, however, could change quickly; the stock was so volatile that it temporarily halted soon after it was listed. The company’s financial performance has been underwhelming. It posted $3.3 million in revenue and lost $49 million in the first three quarters of 2023, according to regulatory filings.

Still, Trump’s fans have posted on Reddit, X, and Truth Social about how they plan to hold the stock in defiance of traditional investing logic. Previous meme stocks like GameStop and cryptocurrency culture have helped provide the script, but the rhetorical formula is simple: Short sellers will perish, this stock is going to the moon, and don’t sell no matter what.

“Let’s go baby! Trump 2024 to the moon,” one user posted on Reddit, followed by the rocket ship emoji.

In another Reddit thread, stockholders discussed at what price they would sell shares in the company. “At least waiting for the election win,” one user posted, with the tag Diamond DWAC, a reference to “diamond hands,” a desire to hold a stock despite volatility.

“$150 maybe … but probably waiting for the launch of TMTG+ streaming and also stories videos,” another replied. “Or when our founder is The Leader of The Free World (again) and most reported on person on the world with the most attention on him and his platform. So maybe never‼️”

Reddit user deepfuckingbagholder speculated that the company could eventually be worth 1 trillion dollars. When another user replied, saying that valuation would be virtually impossible, deepfuckingbagholder wrote back: “This stock represents the value of Trump’s brand and I personally believe it can achieve that valuation.”

Truth Social is, predictability, a hotbed of conspiracy theories. Election denialism, vaccine skepticism, and the great replacement theory are all prominently featured on the site. The company has also been mired in controversy since it began, following Trump’s ban from Twitter after the January 6, 2021, riot at the Capitol. A former senior employee filed a whistleblower complaint with the SEC, and other former employees have sued the company, alleging breach of contract. Shareholders voted to take the company public last week, merging Trump Media and Technology Group with a publicly traded holding company, Digital World Acquisition Corp.

The outsize valuation of Truth Social has made Trump incredibly rich. His net worth rose $4 billion to $6.5 billion, making him one of the world’s 500 richest people, according to calculations by Bloomberg News. Trump is restricted from selling shares in the company for about six months, so his net worth could still tank, however, if the price of Truth Social falls.

On Truth Social, one user said a prayer. “Bless all the patriots invested in #DJT,” GothamGal wrote. “Bless this investment, and make us successful so that we may do your will and bring glory to you. Bless and protect our president DJT, and our country. In Jesus name.”

[learnwithmearticles]

Technology's Use of Water

While water is renewable, it is finite. Its renewability depends on us using and managing our water resources responsibly.

Previous articles on this page have discussed hydropower and how it produces less waste and costs less than other resources. We have also briefly discussed how other energy sources consume water as a coolant or receptacle for waste. Entire university courses are dedicated to human uses of water.

Water Scarcity

Only 3% of water on Earth is freshwater. Of course, we need this to drink, but we need it for many more services beyond that.

Many plumbing fixtures are made of copper, which saltwater severely corrodes, same as lead and, over a longer time, PVC. Toilets on average use 1-5 gallons of water per flush. If we want to preserve freshwater by switching to saltwater plumbing, we would have to rethink and re-pipe entire plumbing systems.

We lose safe water in rain, as well. Supported by a study in Environmental Science and Technology, the Center for Disease Control and Prevention in 2022 stated that rainwater is not safe to drink. Chemicals known as per-/poly-fluoroalkyl substances break down extremely slowly, and have leached from many products like cleaners, fabrics, and shampoo into the water cycle. Removing PFAS from water requires filters of activated carbon or reverse osmosis membranes, which also require frequent maintenance.

A lot of water is also not available to us because it is in ice caps and glaciers, which are estimated to be about 68% of Earth’s freshwater. This water is also being lost, because as glaciers melt at increasing rates, that freshwater becomes saltwater in the ocean.

These limitations mean that water is not necessarily renewable yet, especially because treating water produces its own waste and pollution. We have to be responsible with the small percentage of water we have access to.

Irresponsible Use

There are a ridiculous amount of ways in which we waste water. Leaks, watering lawns, and leaving taps running are some of the big household wastes of water. While individual accountability and changes can still make a big difference, I want to focus on bigger impacts.

One example is in nuclear power production. Nuclear power plants use water to cool down used fuel when it is done being used in the reactor. This results in radioactive and thermal water pollution.

Agriculture is another common cause of water pollution. Excess water from rain or artificial watering runs off of agricultural fields and flows towards streams and bodies of water. This runoff often includes amounts of fertilizers and pesticides ranging from minimal to extremely harmful. This leads to improper levels of oxygen, nitrogen, and hydrogen within the water. Like water contaminated by pharmaceuticals, this is not safe to drink, and something not safe for skin contact.

Technology is also a major factor of water demands. Artificial Intelligence and cryptocurrency are heavy water consumers.

AI is beneficial within waste management, as it is able to quickly analyze information and identify issues, potential problems, and potential areas of improvement. Unfortunately, AI training requires a large amount of water. One study states that training GPT-3 alone can evaporate 700,000 liters of freshwater. In 2027, AI is predicted to consume 4.2 to 6.6 billion cubic meters of water. In comparison, Denmark nationally consumes around one billion cubic meters in a year.

Cryptocurrency is even worse. It goes through a process called mining in which transactions are verified and new ‘coins’ are generated into the system. This process is extremely water-demanding. For example, in 2021, mining of Bitcoin consumed more than 1,600 gigaliters of global water. On average, each cryptocurrency transaction consumes 16,000 liters of water in cooling down the computer equipment and the power plants that provide the electricity.

Saltwater as an alternative in these situations does exist; however, this process has the disadvantages of one-time use, large water intake, sewage discharge, and ocean pollution. Technology has begun to improve on this method with seawater circulation cooling technology, which reduces sewage discharge and water intake, but remains an imperfect solution.

Technology has the potential to drastically improve environmental management and restoration, but still has a long way to go before we offset the huge impacts we have made. Freshwater is taken for granted by many people, and the systems that disproportionately consume the most of it are not held accountable. This cycle must stop if we want to make water a truly renewable resource.

Additional Resources

1. Water Renewability

2. Corrosion on Plumbing

3. Treating PFAS

4. Household Water Waste

5. Nuclear Water Waste

6. AI Helping Water Management

7. AI Water Consumption

8. Crypto Mining Water Consumption

9. Seawater cooling technology

[ecosmining]

What Equipment to Use for Mining Bitcoin Profitably After the Halving?

In April 2024, the next Bitcoin halving took place. The reward for mining one block was reduced by 50% and is now 3.125 BTC. Due to this, some may begin to doubt mining — will this activity continue to bring in a decent income? Based on our extensive experience, we can confidently say that mining can and should remain profitable even after the halving. In this article, we will discuss how to organize Bitcoin mining most rationally and what equipment to choose for this.

Bitcoin Price Will Definitely Rise After the Halving

Since the launch of the first cryptocurrency, its halving has occurred approximately every four years. In 2024, this happened for the fifth time. Throughout all these years, the price of BTC, its market capitalization, and audience have steadily increased. The popularity of mining is also growing, and new technologies are being developed to increase its efficiency.

The person or team behind Bitcoin came up with halving to control inflation and maintain demand for the coin. Halving benefits Bitcoin and in no way deprives miners of their well-deserved reward. The rarer the asset, the higher its value — this rule works after each halving. That’s why starting mining right now is an excellent idea.

Three Secrets to Keep Mining Profitable

To make money mining BTC after its halving in 2024, you need to:

Buy or rent the latest generation equipment

Reduce expenses

Find a reliable hosting provider

Let’s take a closer look at all these points.

Today, one of the best ASICs for mining Bitcoin is the Antminer 21 series. It stands out for its high hashing power combined with relatively modest energy consumption. The Antminer 21 significantly outperforms miners of previous generations. The manufacturer of this series, Bitmain, is one of the most well-known in the industry. This is a reliable brand with a very strong team, extremely popular among crypto professionals.

To increase revenue, you can purchase multiple devices and combine them into a mining farm. However, this may require too high initial costs. Additionally, you will need to find a place to host the equipment. It not only consumes a lot of energy but also makes a lot of noise. To reduce the noise level, you can buy ASICs with a water cooling system — but they are more expensive than regular ones.

To cut costs, you can rent a miner instead of buying it. Remote providers can afford the most modern ASICs. You will be able to choose one or several machines with suitable characteristics. The provider will take care of the installation, maintenance, and repair of the equipment. Their staff has all the necessary knowledge and skills. Your involvement in mining will be minimal, and you will be able to receive truly passive income.

Another option is to try cloud mining, a more modern and accessible alternative. You will be renting not an ASIC but hashing power. First, you will purchase a contract on the most comfortable terms for you. After that, your task will be reduced to regularly transferring the commission to the provider — and they will take care of everything else. You will start receiving income on the rise in the price of Bitcoin. If you want to increase your profits, you can buy multiple contracts.

Each halving forces mining providers to rethink their strategies and optimize their activities. Some of those who cannot cope with these tasks close down. That’s why it’s important to check the provider’s history — the longer they have been in business, the better.

The second important parameter is customer reviews. It’s not a problem if some of them are negative — the main thing is that the majority are positive. The contract terms of a good provider are detailed and transparent. The support service is polite, informed, and responds promptly to customer inquiries.

ECOS meets all the criteria of a first-class provider for remote mining. This company is located in the free economic zone of Armenia, where cryptocurrencies are legal, and miners are exempt from taxes for 25 years. The Razdan power plant provides stable access to cheap energy. The security of the territory where the equipment is located is guaranteed by armed guards. The equipment downtime is close to zero. If an ASIC breaks down, it will be promptly repaired on-site, without wasting time sending it to the manufacturer’s service center.

ECOS clients can choose a cloud mining contract from existing options or create their own, individual one. The selection of equipment rental or purchase options is also very large. Clients appreciate ECOS for its transparent terms, reasonable prices, and quality service. This is an ideal provider for beginner miners who are just taking their first steps in the industry. Experienced miners note the exceptional reliability of ECOS, honesty, and timely payment of rewards.

ECOS Client Case

To confirm the above theory, let’s consider a real case of one of the ECOS clients. Let’s denote him by the nickname anto******duate.org.

Immediately after the previous halving in 2020, he bought an Antminer T17 for $699. The hashing speed of this miner was 38 terahashes per second. Four years ago, this model was considered advanced, one of the best on the market.

From November 25, 2020, to November 1, 2021, anto******duate.org earned 0.08026213 BTC with his Antminer T17, which in fiat currency amounted to $5,327. Hosting and miner maintenance costs were only $1,080. The client received a net profit of $3,548. Mining turned out to be a more profitable activity for him than buying bitcoins. If he had bought bitcoins, his profit would have been only $2,900.

To estimate your upcoming expenses and profits, you can use the calculator on the ECOS website. We hope that with the help of this tool, you will see that mining BTC can still be profitable even after the halving!