Had another funny response today to my typical “buy Bitcoin” recommendation when people start talking finances. I received another “you will be in trouble when EMP….” comment. I asked if he used cash in all of his transaction, to which he of course said no. I still don’t understand the straw man statement of using the dystopian argument of a Bronze Age style collapse. Of course it would be problematic for us, and everyone else, in a digital age. It’s a useless dismissal that is only meant to end the discussion and avoid thinking of anything out of their comfort zone. I suppose there is still a long way to go before we pass early adoption. People get #bitcoin at the price they deserve, as they say. 😏

Paul, thank you so much for this introductory guide. The is the headstart that all of us need.

When the microwave oven was first introduced in the late 1940s, it was a marvel of science that most people didn’t trust. The idea of cooking food with invisible waves sounded strange and even dangerous. Early adopters were wary of radiation exposure, doubtful of its effectiveness, and hesitant to replace traditional cooking methods. Microwaves were expensive, bulky, and unfamiliar. For years, they were seen as a gimmick, not a serious kitchen appliance. But over time, something changed. As the technology improved and prices fell, people slowly embraced the convenience. The microwave didn’t replace the stove. In fact, it redefined how people approached quick, efficient meals. What was once mocked and misunderstood is now found in nearly every kitchen on Earth. Bitcoin faces a similar path today. To many, it’s still viewed as confusing, risky, or even dangerous. Critics call it volatile, unnecessary, or a fad. Like early microwave skeptics, they don’t see the utility. Not yet, anyway. But Bitcoin isn’t trying to replace the traditional financial system overnight. It offers a new way to store and transfer value: permissionless, borderless, and resistant to inflation. History has shown that new technologies often feel threatening before they become indispensable. Just as we can’t imagine a home without a microwave today, the time may come when financial systems that don’t include Bitcoin feel incomplete. #bitcoin

Erosion of freedoms (and other aspects of society) are so hard to see in real time for most. I suppose just like physical erosion, it’s best weapon is the scale of time. We do not see the impact at the moment and many simply find it easier to deny it rather than to stop and consider the future. We were blind to it after 9/11 and again during Covid. I think you can ascribe it largely to normalcy bias, and it is easy to see the usual retorts from people that most often come in the form of straw man arguments and ad hominem attacks. Still it’s surprising that even after time has passed, they will defend their previous positions. It seems like a constant refrain from each generation. The baby boomers dismissed Gen X and the Millennials, rather than reflect on what their actions and decisions did to the society they left their children. Now, Gen X is aging and we often dismiss Gen Z, in kind, as detached and unambitious. A cycle of dismissing the successive generations as inexperienced and uninspired, knowing full well that it is symptomatic of our own machinations. We’ve eroded, through political brinksmanship and economic games, the ability to advance beyond the previous generation. The American dream is more of a fairytale for many. Freedom feels like a privilege bestowed by those in power, rather than a God given, inalienable right. All this hidden behind a facade of technology advancement. A sugar coating of modern convenience and creature comforts, which hides a collapse economy, unattainable prosperity, ever closing borders and acutely divided people, cultures and places. We reach the whole world through a screen, but we are afraid to leave our homes. The world was a better place a few generations ago. The world was a better place just a few decades a go when we were kids. The world is a better place now than it will be in a decade….if we repeat the past. I’ve thought about this quite a bit. Perhaps since I had kids, like many parents do. Definitely now. I agree with the concepts of Generational Theory, and I do think we are in a fourth turning. I think there is hope. I buy Bitcoin. I vote when it matters, and I don’t entertain the charade when it doesn’t. I don’t want to be black-pilled, and I suppose I still hold onto optimism, or there would be no need to reflect on the past and consider alternatives for the future. I prefer to believe that it will only go up from here. Maybe not blue skies and rainbows, but better.