Hey friends I was around 12 years old when I logged on to the internet for the first time. We had bought a used PC running Windows 98 from a friend of the family and purchased a dial-up modem from the local internet service provider. My mom wasn't really tech-savvy and she had no real interest in what she called “going into cyberspace,” so I basically had free-reign over that computer and the digital realms to which it connected, so long as she didn't need to use the phone line.and ...

Against the GrainHey friends 👋 One year ago today, I shared an issue of the newsletter, while on vacation, called Out of Office. Long-time readers will recall the relative informality of the Update back then, and this post, was especially all over the place. In it, I reflected on my previous issue, All Together Now, which introduced readers to what would become running themes of my writing:political power decentralization (aka anarchism or libertarianism)the importance of censorship resistan...

Hey friends 👋 I recently finished reading two books back-to-back on the same subject: decentralization. I know, big surprise, right? I spend a lot of time learning about this particular domain, either through the political lens of libertarian socialist / anarchist literature, or through the technological lens of blockchain, cryptocurrency, and open-source software. It was only natural then when I saw these books, each from outspoken proponents of these technologies, that I had to dedicate so...

Hey friends 👋 You know how sometimes a song pops into your head and you can't get rid of it until you can finally listen to it? I recently went looking for an album I had been quite fond of in college to free one particular melody from this kind of infinite loop. But I came across an issue… The album wasn't on Spotify. And it wasn't on Apple Music. It wasn't on Tidal or Bandcamp or just about anywhere else I checked. In fact the only place I could find it was a relatively...

Hey friends 👋 I started writing this newsletter at the beginning of 2023 as I began my pivot from centralized platforms like twitter and Medium towards decentralized platforms like Mirror, Paragraph, Lens, and Farcaster. Over the many issues that I've written since then, I've covered everything from personal experiences to political theory. As I began to write about my passion, and frankly the thing that's kept me interested in blockchain: its potential to upend existing power...

Note: this post is a revisal of an article from 2022 called “The Next Chapter: Non-Fungible Patronage.” That article has been hidden from Mirror, and the two collectors received a free collectible from this article as a thank you for their patronage.Hey friends 👋 When I started blogging, I couldn’t help but ask myself one burning question: can I make any money at this? After all, writing, while often an enjoyable pastime is also a form of creative labour and thus, to be sustainable requires ...

This issue of Thumbs' Update is brought to you by Crypto Tax Calculator; the official global tax partner of Coinbase. With support for over 1000 integrations including new chains like Base, zkSync, and Mantle, a new & improved portfolio tracker, and dark mode for those night owls among you, Crypto Tax Calculator is my number one software recommendation for the second year in a row. And with tax season upon us, they've generously offered 15% to any Thumbs' Update readers who use...

imageThis issue of Thumbs' Update is brought to you by Crypto Tax Calculator; the official global tax partner of Coinbase. With support for over 1000 integrations including new chains like BASE, zkSync, and Mantle, a new & improved portfolio tracker, and dark mode for those night owls among you, Crypto Tax Calculator is my number one software recommendation for the second year in a row. And with tax season upon us, they've generously offered 15% to any Thumbs' Update readers wh...

Happy New Year friends 👋 I can hardly believe that another year has passed for me and for this project that I started back in January of 2021. In many ways, this was the best year yet. So, before I look ahead to 2024, I want to take a moment to reflect on 2023 - for myself and for those of you who are just tuning in - to truly appreciate what has been going on here.Something Old, Something New(sletter)before the pivotAt the end of January last year, I launched the first issue of my newly rei...

Hey friends 👋 I've always been a leftist. My single mom was a union member, I leveraged student loans and other socialist benefits throughout my life to get to where I am today, and I believe strongly that public goods are good. More on that later. One thing that has changed throughout the years is my belief that the state (which many conflate incorrectly with leftism) is capable of reflecting the will of the people or providing for their needs. I came to the realization that centraliza...

Hey friends 👋 In the last issue of the newsletter we looked ahead, defining the various flavours of futurepunk from cyber to cypher to solar to stellar. If you missed it, I definitely recommend you give it a read. After all, with the current state of the things, looking forward to a future where where the world isn't a smouldering pile of ashes, might just be the dose of optimism we all need. That's what I want to talk about today:InstabilityI don't think any of us would make ...

This educational content comes to you with the support of the PoolTogether Growth Team. Visit PoolTogether.com to learn more and start your prize-savings journey. You can also drop by the PoolTogether discord and join one the best communities in DeFi for friendly discussion, community-led events, and weekly community calls.Hey friends 👋 When I was 15, I got my first real job - one that came with a regular paycheck. On my first payday, my mom and I went to the bank to open a checking account ...