I think you hit the nail on the head with "why" vs "how". But being healthy, in normal senses of the word, is not a strong enough why; and I don't think that's irrational. Which certainly supports a pessimistic view. On the positive side, even an unrealistic goal can be enough to sustain you as long as you feel properly and fully aligned with it. Bitcoin adoption by the masses is an unrealistic goal, I always thought so, but pursuing it is still a worthwhile endeavor. That kind of "why" doesn't suit most people. So, the best outcome in practice *might* only be "bitcoin banks", but as long as the hard path of self sovereignty exists at all, it's still not in vain. The future we are fighting against is the one where we don't even have the option. To be clear we may very well lose.

Yes

Right. So still works then? That's cool.

Pretty sure Amazon kindle doesn't use epub. Many years ago there was software that could convert their format to epub but would be very unsurprised if that is no longer possible.

If they actually do something even remotely like this, it will be so culturally tone deaf (speaking as a local resident). The CCP funded library was similar, albeit not nearly as bad since it doesn't tower over the city. Years ago we had similar issues with certain buildings in London such as the famous "Gherkin"... but it's a huge city with a lot of impressive buildings already, plus they made something with a very unique design and without a brand being prominent. I hope Tether does similar, and that they don't make it so tall.

Oh right! That reminds me that I used to explain to people that the VR game "beat saber" is actually a 2D game, because the z-axis (the blocks speeding towards you) is actually just time. Sort of the exact reverse logic :)

For knights the 3rd dimension is useful, yeah. A lot of younger players who grew up playing chess on screens find real boards more difficult to visualize.

Oh, thanks for the correction!

It can only be armor, never a weapon, even in analogy. It's not hacking. Annoys me no end that its defenders in public discourse never point this out. I mean, we get it that they don't want criminals to have phones or money, but they never resort to calling those things "weapons".

At some point this place will become a hellspace of gambling bots and endless posts promoting the gambling bots.