Standing in line at the post office two hours ago. The woman in front of me hands over a 50 euro note. "I want to send money to the Dominican republic." The clerk takes the money. "This will take three working days." The woman nods. He taps on his computer. "They'll receive 3,050 pesos." The woman shrugs and says "OK." The actual exchange rate is 3,412. 12% to send money. 12%! The fact she accepted the rate shows a) blind faith, b) a lack of understanding of how forex works, or that c) she has no choice. It's usually option c). Her family member probably has no account or the banking infrastructure is even more vulture-like than to take 12% to send money across a border. The transaction took so long it wasn't even finished when I collected my package and left. Name, ID, profession, reason for sending the money, and she had to ring the recipient (who wasn't picking up). We can create functioning businesses with AI in less than 3 days. But that relative in the Caribbean won't receive a penny until Thursday. When someone says Bitcoin has no use case, I will tell them this story. The only thing those people lacked was the understanding of how to send a Lightning transaction (instant and a few cents in fees). I've also heard about Venezuelans and Cubans here giving literal bills to a mule, and hoping it reaches their family. Imagine how people can thrive when they aren't trapped in a world where this is normal.

Good to hear. Yes, I'll write up some reviews for Stacker News. I'll review on 21futures.com too. If you'd like copies of Tales from the Timechain, reach out to [email protected]. We should be able to provide them at close to cost.

GM Surveying my haul from . Thanks to , , , , , , , , , and many more artists and authors I shoot hands with. Came back with only 1 copy of left! RIP my reading list.

Very concise description. Yes, I was aware that's roughly how it works, but the best way to learn is to use it! Suppose I was asking for which transactions and situations you prefer to use it instead of Lightning.

Ecash has a new user... me! On 's recommendation, I added and received 256 sats in eCash. What is it best to use it for? Still don't quite follow the advantages over LN wallets. Give me all your tips, nostriches. #asknostr

GM, and goodbye to Prague. 👋

One of us doesn't care...

"We must have a vision for where we are going." From Paul Rosenberg's speech in Prague. Great.

Hey . Would love to get a copy (swapping for if possible, so I have room in my bag. Where can I find you at the conference today?

UTXO!

Does anyone know what Robert Breedlove's current bodyfat percentage is? It's been more than 48 hours since his last update, and I can't bear to be kept in the dark like this.

GM. My new passport finally arrived.

I bought 4 onions today in a farm shop. The attendant struggled with the automated system to weigh and price them. She stared at the calculator on the till. "I'm no good at maths," she said. "Half a kilo on the scale," I said. "Multiply by the kilo price of 1 pound sixty." She looked at me like I was speaking Chinese. I took the calculator and showed her. 0.8 showed on screen. "That's 8 pounds, please," she said confidently. I looked at the four onions on the scale. "Erm, it's 80 pence. Half a kilo for 80p." "Oh," she said. Her eyes darted around the room, searching for an exit. I could tell her head wasn't calculating. The little operatives in her brain were running around in full blown panic mode. We all have our blind spots. Numeracy is hard for some. But come on... if you work in a shop selling vegetables, you must have some concept of pounds, pence, and onions. I'm not saying this to complain or boast about my statistical superpowers. Just sharing that while we talk about central banking policy, stock splits, and power laws, some people can't divide 160 pence in two. Without paying attention to numbers or money, what chance do they have?

GM

Drank some whisky with Bitcoiners in Dublin today. GN.