tripu @tripu@qoto.org

@fidel

🙏❗

**New year, new blog!** (well, not really):

I just resurrected my #blog from 2006. It had been missing for the last few years. In the meantime, I “blogged” on a couple external platforms. I never liked not owning the thing as I used to, though — and my old posts were all unavailable.

So here it is again, at the same URL as always! Apart from blogging there anew, I'll be recovering all my old stuff and importing it there, so hopefully everything's in the same place soon.

RSS and Atom feeds available.

https://blog.tripu.info/

@PsychoCod3r

Of course, I understand transactions — micro- or otherwise. I didn't understand your comment on the context of my toot.

I expect people to pay to be in the #metaverse, yes. Either flat rate subscriptions, billing per time spent online, whatever. Development and infrastructure cost money. Plus, “free” alternatives (surveillance, ads) seem worse.

Apart from that (basic usage) my point is that it makes sense to charge for stuff that is inherently scarce only.

Valid examples: a brand name (unique and valuable as IRL); a ticket to meet some celebrity at an event (that person simply can't interact with an unlimited number of fans); special game items, like weapons etc (a game might not work as well if everyone had access to everything).

Absurd cases: surface, volume, height, transportation, cleanliness, beauty, rooms, location, colour…

@PsychoCod3r I don't understand.

> _“The Blood Heir debacle is a stark reminder that objectionable tropes and ‘codes’ can be found in virtually anything. White character helps a ‘POC’? ‘White savior narrative.’ Black character helps white character, especially at some cost? The ‘Magical Negro’ trope. White and ‘POC’ characters are perfect equals? Colorblindness. Zhao was attacked for creating a fictional world in which most slaves are white; had she created one with black slavery, she could have been attacked as a racist who can't imagine black people in any world as anything other than slaves. (Meanwhile, less than four years ago, a short story cycle by the late Ursula LeGuin set in a world with white slaves and black masters was hailed as part of her ‘literary project of intersectional justice.’) The standards are so flexible and arbitrary that anyone can become the heretic du jour.”_

https://quillette.com/2019/02/04/ya-fictions-online-commissars/

#wokism #socialjustice #culturewars

What do you call it when an #EA buys access to a #blockchain-based game so that they can donate the profit they get from selling #NFT's?

Pay-to-play-to-earn-to-give.

> _“Floors don’t have to be swept in the #metaverse unless they’re designed to need sweeping.”_

https://paulbutler.org/2021/play-to-earn-and-bullshit-jobs/

I made precisely this point with some acquaintances recently: a metaverse where one has to pay for (or work somehow to) gain access to stuff that is inherently infinite and free in a #virtual world (real estate, raw materials, voxels, floors on a building, a more central location, IDs, communication channels) is a stupid, contradictory proposition. There is no scarcity in the metaverse.

Entering a metaverse with artificial scarcity in it is like boarding a plane that is designed to fly directly over motorways only.

#SciHub being sued by #Elsevier again, this time in 🇮🇳 #India. Some #EffectiveAltruism members are mounting a defence.

Contribute with legal expertise, money, or diffusion. Also, if you're a professor, you can sign in support of SciHub.

https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/FSYCFvosHCbf6Dgfw/sci-hub-sued-in-india

Another one from #MeinKampf:

> _“What we must fight for is to safeguard the existence and reproduction of our race and our people, the sustenance of our children and the purity of our blood, the freedom and independence of the fatherland, so that our people may mature for **the fulfillment of the mission allotted it by the Creator of the universe**.”_

#Hitler #religion #atheism #nazis

https://www.newsweek.com/ok-bill-would-pay-parents-10k-each-day-their-nominated-banned-books-remain-libraries-1663511

#books #outrageous #censorship #education

Allow me to [quote myself](https://www.reddit.com/r/samharris/comments/ros4jt/peterson_has_gone_completely_off_the_rails/hqa9zt4/):

> _“This isn't about [Sam] Harris, [Jordan] Peterson, or Twitter — it's a more general point about the quality and usefulness of online discussions, and the accuracy and traceability of #information. As I said: when someone takes a screenshot, they have the #URL right there, at hand, to share with the world (in addition to the image itself, if necessary). Even if the cost for another person of looking for the source were equal to the cost of sharing the URL in the first place (which it is not), if one multiplies by the number of people who might be curious, or sceptical, or might want to reply to the tweet or boost it (all of whom will have to look it up on their own) it's much more efficient for the OP to provide the link in the first place. It's not like we're imposing an unreasonable burden with this rule. I am always amazed when people disagree with this recommendation.”_

Toying with [Docusaurus](https://docusaurus.io/) to resurrect my #blog (which I started back in 2006 but has been AWOL for the last few years) in time for the new year.

What I want now is a static site generator with simple set-up and maintenance; a decent number of themes, plugins, etc (eg, to be able to import my old posts, to set up redirections); and that is good for blogs (eg, I need RSS feeds). Preferably JS or Python. Good to have: a free, open comment system that I can own.

Any thoughts about #Docusaurus before I get too deep into it?

@fidel I see you're into indie. Saved!

This time of the year I like to reflect on all the great new #music I've discovered and enjoyed, and on the classics that I keep on playing on loop and dancing to.

I'm talking wonderful tracks such as _“The Wheels on the Bus”_, _“Five Little Ducks”_ or _“The Potty Song”_.

Keep this verbatim quote from #Hitler's _“Mein Kampf”_ at hand for the next time someone suggests that the #nazis did what they did in the name of #atheism:

> _“I believe that I am acting in accordance with the will of the Almighty Creator: by defending myself against the Jew, I am fighting for the work of the Lord. […] For the political leader the religious doctrines and institutions of his people trust always remain inviolable.”_

#MeinKampf #religion

I love #economics because its basic principles are so powerful and generalisable (ie, it's not just “about #money”).

I started using Greg #Mankiw's very popular textbook _“Principles of Economics”_ as a reference a few years ago, and since then I find myself applying its “ten principles of economics” often in everyday life.

This week I learnt that David #Henderson has been teaching his own “ten pillars of economic wisdom” for decades. Those seem good, too.

So I decided to merge both!

Hereby I present the main insights of economics condensed in **fourteen principles of economics**. Even if you don't like econ as a subject, you'd do well to heed these ideas:

👉 In common (_Mankiw ≃ Henderson_):

* Rational people **think at the margin**. ≃ Economic thinking is thinking on the margin.
* People respond to **incentives**. ≃ Incentives matter; incentives affect behavior.
* **Trade** can make everyone better off. ≃ The only way to create wealth is to move resources from a lower-valued to a higher-valued use. Corollary: both sides gain from exchange.
* A country's standard of living depends on its ability to produce **goods and services**. ≃ The only way to increase a nation’s real income is to increase its real output.
* **Markets** are usually a good way to organize economic activity. ≃ Competition is a hardy weed, not a delicate flower.
* Society faces a short-run trade-off between **inflation and unemployment**. ≃ Creating jobs is not the same as creating wealth.

👉 Mankiw's:

* People face **trade-offs**.
* The cost of something is **what you give up** to get it.
* **Governments** can sometimes improve market outcomes.
* Prices rise when the government **prints too much money**.

👉 Henderson's:

* TANSTAAFL: There ain’t no such thing as a **free lunch**.
* **Information** is valuable and costly, and most information that’s valuable is inherently decentralized.
* Every action has **unintended consequences**; you can never do only one thing.
* The **value** of a good or a service is subjective.

@fidel

Who knows 🤷 🙂

I do think that _some_ #crypto is a must in a balanced portfolio, yes. On the other hand, these pretty round allocations always seem whimsical and irrational to me. I guess one should weigh all components according to their relative risk, volatility and performance…?

I don't know, it's like saying: “want a balanced training regime? make sure you run 10 km, cycle 10 km and swim 10 km each week!“ 😆

Best #investing strategy, according to Harry #Browne:

* ¼ in **precious metals** (protection against _inflation_)
* ¼ in **stocks** (performance during _bullish_ times)
* ¼ in **bonds** (performance during _bearish_ times)
* ¼ in **cash** (protection against _deflation_)

(Disclaimer: don't trust him, don't trust me; quite old: eg #crypto didn't even exist back then.)