Ukrainian sniper, Vyacheslav Kovalskiy, broke the record for longest confirmed sniper kill at 12,468 feet. The bullet took 9 seconds to reach its target. The shot was made with a rifle known as "Horizon's Lord." https://image.nostr.build/36a76635d66a72e060effeda717a5583568a71cf2cf4b6db72d38ced28f37677.jpg


Who loves tamales 🫔 https://image.nostr.build/adfcb361f02fd7784103769f3a112433298f535087b2fc46e7717cad661f14d4.jpg


The most tomatoes harvested from a single plant is 32,194

According to the Guinness Book of World Records a single tomato plant achieved an incredible feat, producing a record-breaking 32,194 tomatoes in just under a year.

The record is held by Walt Disney World’s Epcot Science project in Lake Buena Vista, Florida.

The harvest began on May 24, 2005, and concluded on April 20, 2006, showcasing the remarkable potential of innovative agricultural techniques.

Weighing in at an impressive 522 kg (1,151 lbs), this tomato plant's yield was used to feed tourists in Disney parks. https://image.nostr.build/44bdef554ddc602aba524ae8c63bea4535e3616a7e517ba6fd3e2323866af3d4.jpg


I love this! An old dresser turned into an entryway! I like that the hangers are still there too! https://image.nostr.build/d25dfef9f58dc4f5a155c085340cabbd873f5856b2adf156b64df64c892dbbfd.jpg


Today's reality 💔 https://image.nostr.build/279bc4892646fbf72b9d2e7cd39d4f1ef118dd7e9b2e293a6191a91a27bf9e3b.jpg


The American Radiator Building, now known as the Bryant Park Hotel, is one of the most iconic early skyscrapers in New York City. Located at 40 West 40th Street, it overlooks Bryant Park in Midtown Manhattan. This building, constructed in 1924, is a standout example of the fusion of Gothic Revival and Art Deco styles, designed by renowned architects Raymond Hood and André Fouilhoux. Its design and significance have made it a prominent fixture in New York City's skyline and a key piece of the city’s architectural history.

Historical Overview:
Originally commissioned by the American Radiator Company, the building was intended to serve as the company's headquarters. At the time, the American Radiator Company was a major player in heating and plumbing systems, so the building was constructed to reflect both industrial power and modern elegance. The black brick exterior, intended to symbolize coal, and the gold trim, representing fire, are metaphors for the company’s business, combining both raw industrial elements with luxurious, forward-thinking design.

Key Points and Architectural Significance:
Architectural Design and Style:

Designed by Raymond Hood, who later designed the famous Rockefeller Center, and André Fouilhoux, the building is a hybrid of Gothic Revival and Art Deco architecture.
Its most striking feature is its black brick facade, an unconventional choice at the time, symbolizing coal. The gold trim on the setbacks and pinnacles represents fire, directly tying the building’s aesthetics to the American Radiator Company's role in the coal and heating industries.
The building's verticality, ornamentation, and setbacks are early signs of what would become the dominant Art Deco skyscraper style in New York throughout the 1920s and 1930s.
Height and Structure:

The building stands at 338 feet (103 meters) and has 23 stories, a significant height for its time.
Its steel-frame construction allowed for large vertical dimensions, and the use of setbacks—required by the 1916 Zoning Resolution—helped shape the city's modern skyscraper aesthetic.
Symbolism in Materials:

The choice of materials in the building’s facade is symbolic: black bricks represent coal, the source of heat, while gold represents fire and energy, key elements of the heating and radiator industry.
The use of industrial imagery in an elegant building was groundbreaking, and the American Radiator Building is often cited as a precursor to the Art Deco movement, blending industrial might with luxury and beauty.
Cultural Impact:

The building’s bold design and rich symbolism caught the attention of artists and critics alike. It was famously painted by Georgia O'Keeffe in her 1927 work Radiator Building – Night, New York, where she depicted the building against a luminous nighttime cityscape, highlighting its iconic shape and glowing gold details.
The American Radiator Building became a symbol of the modern age—where industry, art, and architecture met—at a time when New York was asserting itself as a global center of innovation and culture.
Transition to the Bryant Park Hotel:

In 2001, the building was converted into the Bryant Park Hotel, a luxury boutique hotel that retained much of its original architectural grandeur. The hotel has kept many of the building's iconic features while adding modern amenities and services. The hotel continues to be a cultural landmark, hosting events and celebrities, and maintaining the historical aura of the building.
Influence on Future Architecture:

The American Radiator Building is often considered a precursor to the fully developed Art Deco style that would dominate New York architecture in the 1920s and 1930s. Raymond Hood’s design sensibilities, displayed in this building, were later applied in his more famous projects, like Rockefeller Center and the McGraw-Hill Building.
Its bold color scheme of black and gold was highly unusual for its time and set the stage for a more adventurous approach to materials and ornamentation in skyscrapers.
Legacy and Preservation:

The building was designated a New York City Landmark in 1974, ensuring its preservation as a crucial piece of the city's architectural history.
It has become a cherished part of the New York skyline, particularly noticeable from Bryant Park, and remains a favorite subject for photographers and architects due to its striking contrast with nearby modern glass skyscrapers.
Conclusion:
The American Radiator Building is an outstanding example of how industrial symbolism and modern aesthetics can blend into a masterpiece of architecture. Its use of black bricks and gold accents to reflect the heating industry, coupled with its early adoption of Art Deco styling, make it an important precursor to many of New York's iconic buildings. Its transformation into the Bryant Park Hotel in the 21st century has allowed the building to retain its place in both the city's history and its future, continuing to serve as a symbol of New York’s architectural evolution. https://image.nostr.build/a8fc36ae9ea26d7559496332fa6983dccba3be2d5ea54ae5584ae99bbb0750f7.jpg


"No one ever told me that grief felt so like fear. I am not afraid, but the feeling is like being afraid. The same fluttering of the stomach, the same sensation of being trapped. The reality of loss is a deep, pervasive sadness that seeps into every corner of existence, leaving one to wrestle with an overwhelming sense of despair."
— A Grief Observed by C. S. Lewis https://image.nostr.build/37c9b06c28ce98e19581e035a58da17d10dda4e1448bc3616cebc617f4921b23.jpg


Yeah they don’t care about the process just overnight success.


This Is The Start Of A Toxic Relationship 🥴🤣🤣 https://image.nostr.build/b7197599d0412c39ec95dbb7d91cca854c935b8c78c51e582ee5ba504ebc2ae8.jpg


I travel alone and always lock my doors down this way at night so no one can open the doors.
It’s an old trucker trick I was taught and hope it helps someone else who didn’t know about it. https://image.nostr.build/ce0ebead83d6b503b2d8ddeb1ba9750ef4dbedb8595b87afe3415d64129194f3.jpg


In a horrifying scene, migratory birds cover the sky of Italy Rome  🖤 https://image.nostr.build/3727920dfae48c74dbb7ce45a461c97fe4d8dd906eb0a2397aeb151efb3adecb.jpg


Did you know that:
 - one spoonful of honey is enough to keep a person alive for 24 hours
 - one of the first coins in the world featured a bee symbol
 - honey contains live enzymes. The metal spoon kills these enzymes. The best way to consume honey is with a wooden spoon, if not, you can use a plastic one.
 - honey contains a substance that helps the brain function.
 - honey is one of the few foods on earth that alone can sustain human life.— at White Gate St Helena.
 - bees saved people from starvation in Africa.
 - propolis produced by bees is one of nature's most powerful antibiotics.
 - honey has no expiration date.
 - the bodies of the world's greatest emperors were buried in golden coffins and then covered with honey to prevent them from rotting.
 - the term "honeymoon" comes from the fact that the young couple consumed honey for fertility purposes after marriage.
 - a bee lives less than 40 days, visits at least 1,000 flowers and produces less than a teaspoon of honey, but for her it is the work of a lifetime. https://image.nostr.build/3620d0ad0addd985600e70a1859fbf55fbcacf65b795cb8c1f668402af0747e6.jpg


When the sky turns into a masterpiece 🎨🕊 https://image.nostr.build/a4170e96295b0ef5fd3b32be92a01c1f9b9c14ead6c144a3e4f6f62d3ba1fab1.jpg


I would


This will turn out to be smoky and delicious.. cook tender


Hello i'm a house centipede, I am your friend! Please don't hurt me, and leave me be, because I am cleaning your house for you, of all of those nasty bugs you don't want, such as cockroaches!

I am not dangerous, I do not pose the same issues as many othr household pests. I am not known to spread or carry diseases and harmful bacteria the way cockroaches do. I don't eat away at the structure of your home for years, undetected, the way termites do.

I am fast and have long legs, which may frighten some people, but I am harmless!

Since I feed on small arthropods, including pest insects, if you see large numbers of me, this may indicate another underlyng pest issue.
You must read this: https://golfvertex.com/a-huge-2500-year-old-lost-city-was-just-discovered-in-the-amazon-rainforest/ https://image.nostr.build/0b5d54b23290061e97d5bb27445759c46840a885eca0948ff067dcb1ce608315.jpg


me after I text my friend “ I'm here ” instead of just knocking on the door https://image.nostr.build/8feefdf6ebe6baf6017fa808e51ee49ac5eca76708519a4bbc0ec3e5feafdc47.jpg


Reptilians


Emerald tablets


In his 1976 book The Twelfth Planet, Russian-American author Zecharia Sitchin claimed that the Anunnaki were actually a race of extraterrestrial beings from the undiscovered planet Nibiru, who came to Earth around 500,000 years ago in order to mine gold.

According to Sitchin, the Anunnaki genetically engineered homo erectus to create modern humans to work as their slaves. Sitchin claimed that the Anunnaki were forced to leave Earth when Antarctic glaciers melted, causing the Flood of Noah, which also destroyed the Anunnaki’s bases on Earth. These had to be rebuilt and the Nephilim, needing more humans to help in this massive effort, taught them agriculture.

Ronald H. Fritze writes that, according to Sitchin, “the Annunaki built the pyramids and all the other monumental structures from around the world that ancient astronaut theorists consider so impossible to build without highly advanced technologies.“Sitchin also claimed that the Anunnaki had left behind human-alien hybrids, some of whom may still be alive today, unaware of their alien ancestry. Sitchin expanded on this mythology in later works, including The Stairway to Heaven (1980) and The Wars of Gods and Men (1985). In The End of Days: Armageddon and the Prophecy of the Return (2007), Sitchin predicted that the Anunnaki would return to earth, possibly as soon as 2012, corresponding to the end of the Mesoamerican Long Count calendar.

Source: Anunnaki Origins https://image.nostr.build/fad4fad6632c0c740f68d02d0e36792e360786c06471c04152aa877af6a8236c.jpg


"Situation will teach you the real meaning of life." https://image.nostr.build/43408d678f63d8cb6fcf04ce6fa07f248f68085e8644bce3bc26395b494207a2.jpg


I make no apologies for repeating this message 🐝
If you see a bee of any description on the floor or not flying other than on a flowering plant, it is STARVING! You can help.
We are currently well into the 'June Gap' - the time between when the Spring flowering plants stop and the Autumn flowers start producing pollen and nectar.
You can help by mixing two parts sugar to one part water and offering the syrup to the bee. She (and they are mostly ladies) will happily drink from a teaspoon. You'll see her little black tongue as she drinks. It will take about 10 minutes for her to convert the syrup to energy, but she will fly away if you've helped her in time. The feeling you get on seeing her recovery and flight is well worth your time.
PLEASE NOTE - This is a temporary measure and 'First Aid' only. The Bees need diversity in their diet and need to pollinate plants in their search for food. I'm not suggesting we feed sugar to Bees as a regular thing.
NO HONEY PLEASE - Disease can be spread easily from colony to colony through this practice and you will do more damage than good. White sugar and water only please x
They can't thank you, so I will on their behalf.
Thanks a million 🐝🐝🐝🐝 https://image.nostr.build/1b154ecc653f803c2b1d78a9ca5d4d3ec3bf404dc0358179cbcc4b974b25b6c6.jpg


DID YOU KNOW?
🐝 There are live enzymes in honey.
🐝 When in contact with a metal spoon, these enzymes die.
🐝 The best way to eat honey is with a wooden or plastic spoon.
🐝 Honey contains a substance that helps your brain work better.
🐝 Honey is one of the rare foods on Earth that alone can sustain human life.
🐝 One teaspoon of honey is enough to sustain human life for 24 hours.
🐝 Propolis, produced by bees, is one of the most powerful natural antibiotics.
🐝 Honey has no expiration date.
🐝 The bodies of great emperors were buried in golden coffins and covered with honey to prevent putrefaction.
🐝 The term "honeymoon" comes from the tradition of newlyweds consuming honey for fertility after the wedding.
🐝 A bee lives less than 40 days, visits at least 1,000 flowers, and produces less than a teaspoon of honey in its lifetime.
🐝 One of the first coins had a bee symbol on it.
Deep gratitude to the humble BEE! 🐝 https://image.nostr.build/7c2629a5cbd463b6ca5e99b3f58ca8cfd04f0754bfb63626fe8f1c86bf3a4e9e.jpg


look so cool😁
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Ten Unknown Facts About #BMW
1. Founding and History: BMW, Bayerische Motoren Werke AG, was founded in 1916 in Munich, Germany, initially producing aircraft engines. The company transitioned to motorcycle production in the 1920s and eventually to automobiles in the 1930s.
2. Iconic Logo: The BMW logo, often referred to as the "roundel," consists of a black ring intersecting with four quadrants of blue and white. It represents the company's origins in aviation, with the blue and white symbolizing a spinning propeller against a clear blue sky.
3. Innovation in Technology: BMW is renowned for its innovations in automotive technology. It introduced the world's first electric car, the BMW i3, in 2013, and has been a leader in developing advanced driving assistance systems (ADAS) and hybrid powertrains.
4. Performance and Motorsport Heritage: BMW has a strong heritage in motorsport, particularly in touring car and Formula 1 racing. The brand's M division produces high-performance variants of their regular models, known for their precision engineering and exhilarating driving dynamics.
5. Global Presence: BMW is a global automotive Company
6. Luxury and Design: BMW is synonymous with luxury and distinctive design, crafting vehicles that blend elegance with cutting-edge technology and comfort.
7. Sustainable Practices: BMW has committed to sustainability, incorporating eco-friendly materials and manufacturing processes into its vehicles, as well as advancing electric vehicle technology with models like the BMW i4 and iX.
8. Global Manufacturing: BMW operates numerous production facilities worldwide, including in Germany, the United States, China, and other countries, ensuring a global reach and localized production.
9. Brand Portfolio: In addition to its renowned BMW brand, the company also owns MINI and Rolls-Royce, catering to a diverse range of automotive tastes and luxury segments.
10. Cultural Impact: BMW's vehicles often become cult https://image.nostr.build/a165882d3c4aeb27a204dc3569a8beea397c35f6cd621744ca695cf2b344a5fd.jpg


White people gather here


"Later"
 - Talk to you later.
 - I'll call you later.
 - See you later.
 - We'll walk later.
 "I'll tell you later."
 We leave everything for later, but forget that "later" does not belong to us.
 Later, our loved ones are no longer with us.
 Later, we don't hear them and we don't see them.
 Later, they are just memories.
 Later, the day becomes night, the force becomes helpless,
 the smile becomes a grimace, and life becomes death.
 "Later" becomes "too late." https://image.nostr.build/1627ea482075fbde3029be3adda38685b29a2e39ba1e5bf52f259c97775e1d64.jpg


The right path does not necessarily have to be everybody's way. https://image.nostr.build/6cea10e564a671cf12051c3bc1504cc793099a8bac9729bd1fbd944def0be731.jpg


Pets, it turns out, also have last wishes before they die, but only known by veterinarians who put old and sick animals to sleep. Twitter user Jesse Dietrich asked a vet what was the most difficult part of his job.
The specialist answered without hesitation that it was the hardest for him to see how old or sick animals look for their owners with the eyes of their owners before going to sleep. The fact is that 90 % of owners don't want to be in a room with a dying animal. People leave so that they don't see their pet leave. But they don't realize that it's in these last moments of life that their pet needs them most.
Veterinarians ask the owners to be close to the animals until the very end. "It's inevitable that they die before you. Don't forget that you were the center of their life. Maybe they were just a part of you. But they are also your family. No matter how hard it is, don't leave them.
Don't let them die in a room with a stranger in a place they don't like. It is very painful for veterinarians to see how pets cannot find their owner during the last minutes of their life. They don't understand why the owner left them. After all, they needed their owner’s consolation.
Veterinarians do everything possible to ensure that animals are not so scared, but they are completely strangers to them. Don't be a coward because it's too painful for you. Think about the pet. Endure this pain for the sake of their sake. Be with them until the end." https://image.nostr.build/f3752f900d0bf25ad8aa6a5705607f4be2267158c5ba7787d47bba283668759c.jpg


When they send you on a beer run
And you don't go back. https://image.nostr.build/9d63513aa7223c90168da95f82c95c704cb846b3a47f84cfcc4a765b72250f58.jpg


💨💨🚭 https://image.nostr.build/0d622cf876a8f8774f18b3d6b661a91f32ebe1a91ce8d8d5c0fb4f592892f937.jpg


Photographer Tony Austin was at the tail-end of a 3-hour nature walk recently when a murder of crows landed nearby. When 1 of the crows started “acting strangely,” Austin began photographing it.
Anting is a behavior in which crows land on an anthill and allow ants to infest their feathrs. The ants then spray formic acid on their feathers. This acid will act as an insecticide, fungicide, and bactericide that will rid the bird of all its disease-causing pathogens! https://image.nostr.build/743c2ae08d854e8f8ed66d3f607d74c33a73f98c92b31d983cb8846d24034c72.jpg


When the liquor starts hitting and you can feel the shyness leaving your body 😊✨✨ https://image.nostr.build/fb261ebc41044792ef8c3702dbb06484786bbb48ee1c9505030c265a782c4677.jpg


Rare trail cam photo of a group of bears, relaxing, and discussing the best way to break into a Subaru https://image.nostr.build/cf217d8e8751550e90c88be57942f7b3a9ca7942ef2cf815480fa29817820805.jpg


"I sat with my anger long enough until she told me her real name was grief." - C.S. Lewis https://image.nostr.build/06d8a122e9b3c2aa862b724e990819586bea2493be960a5ee55716d90c4aaf17.jpg


Who give a fuck


On the island of Luzon, in the Philippines, lives a nomadic tribe of the Aeta people, an indigenous tribal people who have been isolated, by choice, from the rest of the world for thousands of years.

All previous attempts to "civilize" by Spanish and British colonizers have failed and been left in their world.

The island itself is ancient and remote jungles are hunting grounds for a wide range of fascinating and giant creatures, such as this 22.6-foot-long reticulated python (6.88 m) .
It's the longest snake species in the world, and it was killed by the tribe in 1970. They've been living on the fruits of the jungle for a few centuries, caring very little about the problems of the outside world.
Follow
AMUOL Gemdit Generation https://image.nostr.build/ccd0423d9d89e781582fa4e7750a81bc0d1735e82f46e07269ca9a32f1d26942.jpg


The size of the group does not matter. The teamwork does. https://image.nostr.build/4e540a0a7f22cbcff8ff25ee2b4a654c789c0127c754efbfc9b3f95cd37a953d.jpg


Two women showing uncovered legs in the public place for the first time , Toronto , 1937 https://image.nostr.build/01cf5cb2af10a02360561f9f0be8e52417fadd82bbb082bce9fe2675c9d8fe6d.jpg


It’s called a Walking Palm Tree because it does actually walk. When it chooses a location to go towards, it grows new roots in that direction and lets the trailing roots die back. This continues inch by inch, and it can travel up to twenty feet in a year. https://image.nostr.build/563e4f4a3369915233391351ea7a1f27e7db2c7e1dafaee070b0554f7a048d06.jpg


"I sat with my anger long enough until she told me her real name was grief." - C.S. Lewis https://image.nostr.build/91903a9e25b74dd5860fa92bcb4516a60b9499e99d2ed5bef208f40db7f2c127.jpg


You always have to lose something to get something. https://image.nostr.build/a5e53e552d8e426d4556fc01971f41e86332fbf992aa3d9c01d72c4a64928dc4.jpg


Like mother and son:
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Ten Unknown Facts About #BMW
1. Founding and History: BMW, Bayerische Motoren Werke AG, was founded in 1916 in Munich, Germany, initially producing aircraft engines. The company transitioned to motorcycle production in the 1920s and eventually to automobiles in the 1930s.
2. Iconic Logo: The BMW logo, often referred to as the "roundel," consists of a black ring intersecting with four quadrants of blue and white. It represents the company's origins in aviation, with the blue and white symbolizing a spinning propeller against a clear blue sky.
3. Innovation in Technology: BMW is renowned for its innovations in automotive technology. It introduced the world's first electric car, the BMW i3, in 2013, and has been a leader in developing advanced driving assistance systems (ADAS) and hybrid powertrains.
4. Performance and Motorsport Heritage: BMW has a strong heritage in motorsport, particularly in touring car and Formula 1 racing. The brand's M division produces high-performance variants of their regular models, known for their precision engineering and exhilarating driving dynamics.
5. Global Presence: BMW is a global automotive Company
6. Luxury and Design: BMW is synonymous with luxury and distinctive design, crafting vehicles that blend elegance with cutting-edge technology and comfort.
7. Sustainable Practices: BMW has committed to sustainability, incorporating eco-friendly materials and manufacturing processes into its vehicles, as well as advancing electric vehicle technology with models like the BMW i4 and iX.
8. Global Manufacturing: BMW operates numerous production facilities worldwide, including in Germany, the United States, China, and other countries, ensuring a global reach and localized production.
9. Brand Portfolio: In addition to its renowned BMW brand, the company also owns MINI and Rolls-Royce, catering to a diverse range of automotive tastes and luxury segments.
10. Cultural Impact: BMW's vehicles often become cult https://image.nostr.build/52d1404a5438c00e693c5e5b3d5a6193f8f5ca84b2fb5be078088ae7fff52aa4.jpg


Woodstock, 1969. It's hard to imagine this many people sitting peacefully in one place. https://image.nostr.build/e1e70908c030109719ea41f5ecf16aafa37119e9e14f57b60c499ef1156f23a3.jpg


It’s a boy 🤫🫣 https://image.nostr.build/86bc3ee401b3e4499ac5f7d39dce7f36ca76b65a251bc862f38df84a9fe0c156.jpg


Kaboom 💥 https://image.nostr.build/c1af41dbfad81fe809e2bb7eeb30fa971911c4db7a6671519396a1c9dc6167b3.jpg


Australia... A man there let a huge huntsman spider live in his house.
Despite their often large and hairy apearance, huntsman spiders are not considered to be dangerous spiders. As with most spiders, they do possess venom, and a bite may cause some ill effects. However, they are quite reluctant to bite, and will usually try to run away rather than be aggressive.
A huntsman spider has a terrifying reputation due to their size and speed. Aftr all, they are very large, very fast ambush hunters.
Huntsmen are quite beneficial spiders in many ways.
They're very fond of eating other creepy crawlies that we don't like having around the house, such as cockroaches, mosquitoes and flies, caterpillars, moths and other spiders, the reason the man let it live in his house. https://image.nostr.build/666276fe8adf9027c562c3b8b7ef0174353d01a765b3394a60ab658a988a641e.jpg


"Don't try to convince everyone with your ideas, because minds differ." https://image.nostr.build/964904e5f60fffa2fc59dc19a92ffdf6928cb4f12e1060a64136e0436a982db2.jpg


FUN FACT
bees can sting lots of things without dying, particularly other insects.
The reason they die when stinging humans is because human skin has many thin layers to grip the barbs on the stinger, and humans tend to freak out when stung. If you sit there calmly and let the bee pull it's stinger out it can pretty often get away just fine. https://image.nostr.build/0bf0d8ddfa2a8a4c09818d4a2e54345050bcc651262d320fea33da950213e201.jpg


Not really!!


🍭🍭🍭 https://image.nostr.build/c13f5b34be26157c93817fa4a1723aeaddbdc79b992491af1b9a1f3be0bef584.jpg


Wow lightning striking https://image.nostr.build/c1af41dbfad81fe809e2bb7eeb30fa971911c4db7a6671519396a1c9dc6167b3.jpg


A beautiful moment captured just in time 🐢

This photograph is called "Happy Turtle" and won a very important photography award, people's choice award 🏆

📸 Photographer:  Tzahi Finkelstein. https://image.nostr.build/a100e7ab28b531defbe2f5a7ff64272d8249e28b70944b75e2f80e867f901bd2.jpg


🌈🌈🏳🌈 https://image.nostr.build/61be35393b08ecdeda4bed6a7737b55e1624d95e53e20ce1f93db43e9bb8e3ea.jpg


“Though you no longer walk beside me physically,
I see you in every memory.
I feel you in every heartbeat.
I hear you in every song.
I know you in every thought.
I laugh with you in every joy.
I cry with you in every sorrow.
For though you no longer walk beside me,
You have never truly left me,
For I feel your presence with me every step of the way
And you have never truly gone.”

Wonderful words by Tahlia Hunter ❤

Amazing Artwork by Helen Yousaf ❤ https://image.nostr.build/369c6202ac68a753cd0502dc843713c64ae86e07556c211d484c1deed939afb1.jpg


Potatoes are so easy to grow in containers! Here are the best tips!

1. Understanding the Potato Lifecycle: Recognizes the growth process from sprouting 'eyes' to forming tubers underground.

2. Choosing the Right Potato Variety: Emphasizes selecting early, mid-season, or late varieties based on regional climate and growth periods.

3. Prepping Seed Potatoes: Details the 'chitting' process in light and moderate temperatures to encourage sprouts before planting.

4. Potato Planting Time: Specifies ideal planting times based on local frost dates to prevent damage to potatoes.

4. Selecting Containers: Describes suitable containers like grow bags and emphasizes adequate drainage.

5. Planting and Soil Preparation: Guides on soil layering, positioning sprouted potatoes, and ongoing soil coverage to promote growth.

6. Watering and Fertilization: Discusses maintaining moisture through drip lines and using organic fertilizers suited for acidic soil.

7. Sunlight Requirements: Advises on positioning containers to receive at least 6 hours of daily sunlight.

8. Harvesting Potatoes: Differentiates between harvesting times for new and mature potatoes and offers tips for storage. https://image.nostr.build/20bbbb026d2e416794ca670b8cd45d49b88e24c9ecbd4517632897a37b2e98d8.jpg


Too crazy


One of the most incredible details in art history.

Mirror in Van Eyck's The Marriage of Arnolfini (1434), 55 cm. is wide. However, it reflects the entire room, and the rear view of the couple and two more figures, one of which is thought to be the artist himself, are included in the reflection. https://image.nostr.build/61940b467bedabcd2aad1e01cfc5feebe3d03f21d911308ad1f41829810963e0.jpg


Sky camping in the mountains of China. See more... 😮 https://image.nostr.build/066a6ca151a44d8107a8bf4c38e01d8659338e11c2e9169ddfcbb9bb203258aa.jpg


Omg some people need to be caged and then examined lol just for gags https://image.nostr.build/f6cde042bfd32dfd1fe2caba23f3ae03bb82f6a5b404fec0ffef9a7a6a90cb8e.jpg


Pay attention https://video.nostr.build/1f265626ea3a695ca0c8dfdee4deadbd9d744bf00f17a125b949b1664d807550.mp4


Looks good on you buddy


That one random dude maintaining eye contact while you walk by them. https://image.nostr.build/136ade99fccba1298fb91359fcfe0573f7066f0d646d49ee729aec8e1cada1a1.jpg


I just want to know who built that mailbox 🤔😭 https://image.nostr.build/4e4d8bdb885de43fff220c1dc6f39b75dbf9cb7179e2674cac750a8f4139427c.jpg


When the Titanic sank, it carried millionaire John Jacob Astor IV. The money in his bank account was enough to build 30 Titanics.

However, faced with mortal danger, he chose what he deemed morally right and gave up his spot in a lifeboat to save two frightened children.

Millionaire Isidor Straus, co-owner of the largest American chain of department stores, "Macy's," who was also on the Titanic, said:
"I will never enter a lifeboat before other men."

His wife, Ida Straus, also refused to board the lifeboat, giving her spot to her newly appointed maid, Ellen Bird. She decided to spend her last moments of life with her husband.

These wealthy individuals preferred to part with their wealth, and even their lives, rather than compromise their moral principles. Their choice in favor of moral values highlighted the brilliance of human civilization and human nature.

credit: Paulyn Pickle https://image.nostr.build/8e04270a78465f5b64c5f8ed1bc69a01770e6a72ff270adc7ef958c2d22df80f.jpg


A few months ago, people taught me that newlyweds often plant sycamore trees on both sides of the path leading to the house, then put them together to symbolize that two people become one.
Today I saw it for the first time. https://image.nostr.build/8c39db5098e26f9da3ea08a69cb78497baa04ed9a2e43ed981372a096d2d38c3.jpg


STG 🤣🤣🤣🤣 https://image.nostr.build/0a3882515750596be61ac63ec1d57ba8b7876b2c94b186069585e7cfcfae350c.jpg


Meet Eugene Bostick, a retired farm owner. He made a train all by himself that he uses to take stray dogs on enjoyable rides in his neighborhood and the nearby woods!

“I seen this guy with a tractor who attached these carts to pull rocks. I thought, ‘Dang, that would do for a dog train.’ I’m a pretty good welder, so I took these plastic barrels with holes cut in them, and put wheels under them and tied them together,” Eugene continued. “Whenever these adorable dogs hear me hooking the tractor up to it, man, they get so excited.” 🚂🐶🥰 https://image.nostr.build/1cbd81fd0c4668d91339d1a388f2f66bf18203d04c27c808655061d42a831cfc.jpg


Distortions, Devaluation, and De-Dollarisation
By Simbo Olorunfemi

For almost four decades, Nigeria has been going round in circles, trapped in the wilderness of a Structural Adjustment Programme (SAP), which was supposed to take her to the Promised Land, but is obviously yet to, and which the proponents will argue is our fault.
Nigeria remains marooned in no man’s land, sapped of the little she had before SAP, and left with a misaligned economic structure.
Time and again, people look back, wondering at what might have been, unsure of how to get out of where Nigeria has found herself, with the added pressure of an exploding population, depleting income from a wasting asset, a huge infrastructure gap, youth unemployment and a global economic order different from what she had accustomed herself to, alongside the inability of the elite to drive a consensus around what will move the country forward.
In all these years, one administration after the other, the country has largely remained betrothed to the philosophical template of SAP, forced upon her by the free market apostles, with the boom and bust cycles occasioned by fluctuations in international oil prices being the trigger between the two seasons, even if some economic managers in the past appropriated momentary gains to their prowess.

The only departure, slight as that has been, is the current government, with its social protection and investment programmes and temporary closure of land borders, policies that left the free marketers fuming. It has been same of same and when things go awry, these experts pull off the ladder, arguing that things are only that way because the government has not been bold to withdraw subsidies, implement supposed cost-reflective tariffs or implement some other anti-social programmes.

 It is always that the government did not dip the knife deep enough in the back of the people. But how far do we go, before we query if this might just be a journey gone astray? How deep does the knife have to go before we explore alternative routes out of the wilderness?

Five long years back, I was in a debate with one of the free-market economists who not only sees the market as the magic bullet but calls those with alternative viewpoints to his as a danger to the wellbeing of the country. The debate centred on the devaluation of the naira. That was in January 2016 when the economy was in dire straits, and the naira was officially exchanging at about N200 to $1, and the country was just about to slide into recession. The government was being hounded by the experts for what they labelled a ‘command and control’ approach. Like my economist-friend, they argued that the naira needed to be further devalued.

So, I pointedly asked what the ideal exchange rate was in their book and what benefits would come with it. This was his response: “For example now, if Nigerian devalues or fixes naira at N320 to $1, many imported finished goods and goods made with imported inputs will become unaffordable. Banks would be willing to lend to businesses who come up with plans to make substitutes, especially if they know Nigeria/the government can credibly maintain this rate. In fact when oil export prices recovers, it would be smart of the FGN/CBN to maintain the $1-N320 rate to keep protecting local investment.”

This appeared straightforward enough, but I struggled to make sense of the prescription. So, he enlisted the assistance of Samuel Diminas to “explain it in way that’s more intelligible: African countries, laid waste by bad and incompetent leaders across all sectors of the society, are quick to cook up conspiracy theories blaming the West, IMF, World Bank etc. for their problems. They sell to the gullible public the idea that IMF/World Bank/the West wants them to devalue their currency, eliminate subsidies etc. The issue of international development funds requesting for currency devaluation of subsidised and artificially pegged currencies is true, this position is a no-brainer even amongst sensible and intelligent citizens of these countries with a basic understanding of economics…You can’t be driving around in very long convoys of top of the range Beemers and Benzos, flying around with fleets of PJs (private jets), subsidising the local currency at exorbitant and unsustainable rates, subsidising imported fuel consumption, proposing free feeding for school children etc. while begging for funding to achieve and maintain that which you can ill-afford. What makes this even more ludicrous is that these expenditures are the major sources of intractable fraud and mismanagement…What does the IMF want from Nigeria, for example? Absolutely nothing.
A barrel of palm oil costs more than a barrel of crude oil today, the 2015 annual budget of Chevron ($35 billion) is larger than the annual budget of Nigeria for the same period. Apple has over $100 billion in stashed offshore cash, compared to Nigeria’s external reserves of less than $30 billion…It is important to put things in perspective, if you are broke, and you go begging to borrow money to spend on subsidies, your ‘banker’ may point out that it doesn’t make sense to lend money to sponsor the subsidy of the local currency, share food in schools and buy more BMWs, at a time when earnings have dropped by more than 60% of preceding year."

So I reached out to Rick Rowden for a response: “In fact, Africa has had difficulty industrialising because its leaders drank the Kool-Aid of free markets and free trade proffered by the World Bank, the IMF, and the best university economics departments over the last 30 years. Of particular harm has been the insistence that African countries forswear the use of industrial policies such as temporary trade protection, subsidised credit, preferential taxes, and publically supported R&D. As a result, African countries have abandoned these key tools, which they could have used to build up their domestic manufacturing sectors. Free market advocates told African countries that such “state intervention” in the economy usually does more harm than good, because governments shouldn’t be in the business of trying to “pick winners,” and that this is best left to the market. Africans were told to simply privatise, liberalise, deregulate, and get the so-called economic fundamentals right. The free market would take care of the rest. But this advice neglects the actual history of how rich countries themselves have effectively used industrial policies for 400 years, beginning with the U.K. and Europe and ending with the “four tigers” of East Asia and China. This inconvenient history contradicted free market maxims and so has been largely stripped from the economics curriculum in most universities.”

He shot back: “… Yes China, Taiwan etc. intervened by keeping the value of their currencies low so they could discourage imports and make their exports cheaper for foreigners including Nigerians. At various episodes in our economic history, what did we do with high value naira? Buy Uncle Bens rice – I was surprised this is so expensive no one buys when living in England. Buy Horlicks, go to Dubai and London, buy Hyundais and Kia and Honda cars in thousands and engage in pretend manufacturing – 70% of the inputs are imports.”

I responded thus: “The understanding available to me does not tally with the one you have shared. It was in fact devaluation, as advised by IMF and executed by IBB that led to the collapse of manufacturing, which Nigeria has never recovered from. Inputs for local industries became more expensive, outputs non-competitive, purchasing power eroded, while foreign products came in through smuggling and unfavourable international trade agreements and that is how our industrial estates became ghost towns. The argument you make here was made in 1985 and we know where it got us. Exchange rate does impact on manufacturing, as affordability of products pushed out comes in. What products will we be producing with the poor infrastructure, power and all that will be competitive? I do not see how N320/$1 protects local investment. It will be our ruin… How will the devaluation of the naira simply induce the production of local alternatives, when the conditions on the ground simply do not support such? How does a devalued naira help? How will locally-produced goods become cheaper when the costs of the importation of machinery and other inputs would have gone up? “

I reminded him of the position by another economist, ‘Tope Fasua, that “devaluation as a silver bullet is something recommended by those who hold a people in disdain and know nothing about their economy… and couldn’t care less, and it NEVER works”, but he would not have it. Another economist, Kehinde Emoruwa weighed in, “that devaluation is not a viable option for a mono-cultural and import dependent economy like ours! While it works for the industrialised countries with (a) variety of manufactured goods to sell to the rest of the world (export dependent) ours’ is import dependent (which is an opposite of the latter). Devaluation works basically, in dual ways, thus: it makes your locally made products cheaper and competitive against those of foreign counterparts/competitors. Thus, the domestic consumers (finds) locally made goods cheaper and the imported ones more expensive. Hence, demand favours the locally made goods. It worked for Britain in 1967 (now for me archaic) because Britons then turned to British made goods as against made in Germany or France or Spain etc. But in our own case we don’t have the industrial base, we are not producing (for export), we lack the capacity to be competitive, today we are import dependent. Devaluation will only translate into hyper-inflation.”

Abubakar Gambo asked: “You want to develop industries? Do what the developed countries did when they were at our current stage. Shamelessly protect local industries by imposing heavy tariffs on imports and use the proceeds to subsidise the industries until they become strong enough to stand on their own. Samsung had to spend 27 years before breaking even, now they’re the biggest electronics company in the world.” But our friend would not have it. To him, a strong naira would only encourage wasteful spending on imports.

But the final word was that of Oyeyemi Oliyide, who warned that our friend’s “proposal will see the local companies using their borrowed money from our local banks to purchase their manufacturing tools and resources at the exchange rate of N320 to $1, which will then shoot up the cost of production/manufacturing and then make them sell at almost the amount they would have imported the finished goods. Then the cycle continues and we will have to devalue further… maybe N806 to $1 as I saw in a dream (a) few months ago. God help us ooo… We need to stand against devaluation as advised by the economists to whom we should not leave the matter of our economy.”

This was January 2016 and by August, the rate went as high as N348/$1, and by December, it was N300/$1. Of course, the economists are quick to remind us of ceteris paribus, but the benefits that were supposed to come with exchange rate of N320 to $1 were nowhere to be found. Rather, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has been under tremendous pressure from the same experts, querying the wisdom in her stout defence of the currency at around N360/$1 from 2018, until the recent slide being witnessed. Nigeria has not witnessed the gains the experts tell us will accrue from a devalued naira, rather local production has continued to suffer, yet they insist the way out is further devaluation.

The interesting thing is that some of the commentary around the value of the naira is actually misguided and misdirected. The Nigerian mind has been so dollarised that there is an obsession with the currency even within quarters whose livelihoods have little or no bearing to it. The Nigerian mind has been so dollarised that some imagine that the only benchmark for assessing the state of affairs in the nation is the exchange rate. It is a narrow, reductionist and simplistic thinking, as many who would do so are oblivious of the mechanics behind the exchange rate. Indeed, the dollarisation of thought is largely elitist; that appropriation of a narrow window-view as reality for the people, whereas it might be far off. But that has been latched on to by the aspirational class who now engage in dollar talk, as well.

Yet, for the majority of Nigerians, their livelihoods are not founded around the dollar or the exchange rate. The single largest contributor to the nation’s GDP is agriculture and the dollar input in that sector is less than significant. Agriculture and trade accounts for more than 40 per cent of the country’s GDP. Indeed, the Nigerian economy, as imagined by the elite and a lot of public commentary, differs from what it is in reality. Nigeria is largely a service economy, which is mostly informal, with a lot of activities therein not properly captured. There is always so much talk about diversification of the economy, whereas in reality, the economy is actually diversified. It is diversified across over 40 sectors. What is not sufficiently diversified is government’s revenue source, not the economy. And even on that, the non-oil sector is now weighing in more, with the highest contribution in decades, coming in 2019. The GDP is a better representation of Nigeria than its revenue portfolio.

It is amusing that some think the question of exchange rate is a recent phenomenon, for which the current government should carry the can. The battle over which way to go between a floating exchange rate and a fixed exchange rate, and other variations in between, is one that has been with us for long. The surge in oil revenue between 1979 and 85 had “elicited such profligacy that real income began to decline rapidly, as much as 60 percent between 1980 and 1983, when Nigeria recorded a negative growth rate of -6.7 percent and a budget deficit rising to 13 percent of GDP”, according to Claude Ake. The debate became intense in 1985 under General Babangida with the bid for a loan from the International Monetary Fund (IMF), which Nigerians protested against.

The government designed the Structural Adjust programme (SAP), which “proposed trade liberalisation; an import levy as a disincentive to imports; incentives for exports, especially non-oil exports; a reduction of the petroleum subsidy; privatisation; and a balanced budget, (but) the World Bank and IMF rejected this program, because it did not include the devaluation of the naira. The regime eventually adopted a revised SAP to meet that objection. The major elements of the new adjustment program were implemented between July 1986 and December 1987, the most important being exchange-rate adjustment. A floating exchange-rate system consisting of two tiers was established.”
That birthed the battle between those who think the way to go is to devalue currency, privatise public assets, take funding away from social services, etc., and those of us who advocate growing the economy from the bottom, thinking local, energising the informal sector and funding social services – education and health – to improve the quality of life. This has been on for almost 40 years.
The deficiencies of the Nigerian economy and the desired objectives for rectification have hardly ever changed. When the Babangida administration launched the Structural Adjustment Programme in 1986, the objectives were to restore a healthy balance of payments; diversify the productive base of the economy; minimise dependence on oil and imported inputs; alter and realign aggregate domestic expenditure with production and consumption patterns; and push the economy onto the path of non-inflationary and sustainable growth and development. While a World Bank study in the immediate 1990s attributed a positive impact on aggregate output to SAP, it was also evident from the same study that manufacturing was adversely affected, even with growth at an average of 5.1 per cent over the adjustment period 1986-91. SAP heralded the shift towards a service economy. As observed by Claude Ake: “While the contribution of manufacturing to GDP was stagnating, that of finance and insurance rose from 3.11 percent in 1986 to 8.7 percent in 1991…Non-oil exports did not increase markedly as had been expected. In 1992 non-oil exports accounted for a negligible 3.6 percent of export earnings, while the share of oil was 77.3 percent…The indebtedness of Nigeria has increased over the adjustment period. The debt stock, which was only $18.9 billion before the SAP period, had risen to $33.2 billion by 1991.”

Yet, the experts have hardly changed their course of action over time, and the solution has remained the same. They have been consistent in their argument that the naira is overvalued and have continued to push for devaluation. The Structural Adjustment Programme (SAP) came up with the Second-tier Foreign Exchange Market (SFEM) and later Foreign Exchange Market to address this. The results were soon evident. From an exchange rate of N1 to $1 at the beginning of 1989, by the end of the year, it was already N4/$1. Ernest Shonekan, the most prominent voice in the private sector at the time, had this to say about the situation: “Given the high dependence of the Nigerian economy on imports generally – and we sometimes tend to forget this bottom-line situation – the adjustment of the naira exchange value, although desirable, has resulted in devastating impact on cost of business. Today, the catalogue of woes for industry and commerce include high working capital, long lead time for imports, sharply reduced margins, collapsed volume and depressed turnover. Resulting from all of this, the start-up cost of new business has escalated with unrewardingly long payback period. This will definitely not induce additional investment and it is therefore likely to delay the resumption of growth.”

That was 1987, but Chief Shonekan might as well have been writing in 2017, 30 years later, and the experts are still saying the same thing: “devalue further, place the country’s fate in the hands of the market.” If the challenge has always been that of a non-productive economy, which is import-dependent, with the source of public revenue tied to one product whose price fluctuates around all sorts of variables beyond control, how do you envisage attaining stability in the exchange rate without intervention? How does a devalued local currency promote growth and development, with the exchange rate impacting negatively on the cost of local products and land borders left ajar to foreign products that come in on the back of misused ECOWAS protocols or through barefaced smuggling?

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) must be wondering what to do to achieve its objectives to “preserve the value of the domestic currency, maintain a favourable external reserves position and ensure external balance without compromising the need for internal balance and the overall goal of macroeconomic stability.” All sorts have been thrown in – SFEM, FEM, IFEM, AFEM, complete floating, Dutch auction system (DAS), guided deregulation. It has been difficult achieving or sustaining set objectives.

Just like other developing countries, Nigeria followed the trend of accumulating foreign exchange reserves to ensure that a government or its agency has backup funds, if their national currency rapidly devalues. The reserves are those external assets that are readily available to and controlled by a country’s monetary authorities. They comprise foreign currencies, other assets denominated in foreign currencies, gold reserves, special drawing rights (SDRs) and IMF reserve positions. They are employed for “direct financing of international payments imbalances or for indirect regulation of the magnitude of such imbalances via intervention in foreign exchange markets in order to affect the exchange rate of the country’s currency”.  While the rule of thumb traditionally was for these countries to hold enough reserves to be able to take care of at least three months of imports, the “Guidotti rule” has since displaced that, with the guideline being that countries should hold enough reserves to cover all foreign debt that is short-term or maturing within one year.

While Nigeria has steadily grown its reserves over the years – from $3.4 billion in 1996 to as high as $62.08 in 2008, fluctuating between $30 and $45 billion since then, it is difficult to see the correlation between that and a stronger naira, even if the debt stock has also risen within the same period. But given the ration of short term debt to reserves that has hovered around the optimal level, other benefits such as increase in foreign portfolio investment and appreciation of the currency ought to be noticeable, barring other variables. But it would appear that there are some unknown or unacknowledged variables that would always find a way, making the objective of attaining a fair value for the naira, following this route, possibly a wild goose chase.

Yet, it appears to be the only path our experts are ready to follow. We keep looking outward when we should be looking inwards. Some talk about keeping the land borders shut, as they have been and curtail the importation of non-essentials. How do you sell that? The elites and their vuvuzelas are still up in arms over the RESTRICTION on rice importation. CBN took off 41 non-essential items off the official window for forex; some labelled it a ban and condemned it. There was outcry over the recent restriction on the importation of maize. People want an exchange rate of N1/$1 but they want to eat Basmati rice, bring water in from Mexico, wine from France and go on holiday all over the world, but cannot connect the dots.

But to then proceed on the premise that the import-dependent appetite can only be cured through devaluation of the currency, as had been argued by our friend, is to prescribe amiss. Those accustomed to the wasteful spending are unlikely to curb it, simply because the price shoots up, as this parasitic leisure class are given more to conspicuous consumption and driven by what Veblen refers to as “invidious comparison” and “pecuniary emulation”, rather than rational choices. The answer to that is to slap on them the luxury tax, not force Nigerians to swallow the bitter pill for what only ails a minuscule segment, while pushing the currency down the cliff.

Our experts are insistent in their argument for the market, but Claude Ake disagrees with that: “The market cannot be and never has been a strategy of economic growth, even in the experience of the North. The North, exercising the prerogative of victory in the long-drawn-out contest of paradigms of society, has reinvented development as an ideological emblem. The history of economic growth in the North has been sanitized and recast as a celebration of the North. The rigors of primitive accumulation and the process of proletarianization have been glossed over, as have the contradictions of the market that bred statism and the welfare state, without which capitalism may well have collapsed. Also forgotten is colonialism and its contribution to economic development. What now exists is a simplified view of economic development, which posits that underdevelopment was initially universal and that every country can grow out of it by following policies that are known, tested, and unfailing. Thus the late starters are saddled with the singular burden of carrying out an abstract and misleading conception of development that does not reflect the realities of their own history or even the histories of the North. Because Africa, in particular, is guided by fictitious concepts and is working with blunt instruments, its social transformation has been unduly difficult.”

Professor Adebayo Adedeji submitted that “the imposition of the policy of liberalisation on an economy that is very uncompetitive is counter-productive. Measures to make the economy competitive should first be put in place as a prerequisite to liberalisation and marketisation.”

In 1967, the American dollar became Nigeria’s primary foreign reserve currency, and it has been so till date. The dollarisation of the international economy is one of the gains of America’s soft power, as these countries, including Nigeria, actually ‘subsidise’ the American economy directly through seignorage and indirectly through the sterilisation effect which enables it to run up deficits without the need for corresponding monetary actions. Beyond the subsidy is the domination of the minds here by a foreign currency. I doubt that there is any country in the world where the exchange rate in the parallel market is given as much publicity as we see in Nigeria, that it even drives thought and conversation, even in formal circles.

We need to first shut the world out of our minds, away from the dollar, to be able to do anything meaningful at home. We need to de-dollarise our minds. There is a lot that needs to be done in terms of the de-dollarisation of the economy but more importantly, our psyche.  There is a lot of room for internal growth with little or no external support. We need a refocus and greater discipline in all facets of national life, as Ernest Shonekan argued that “successful economic management requires discipline.” Indeed, “the more disciplined a society as a whole becomes, the more hardworking and efficient it becomes, and the more efficient its economy also becomes,” Professor Adebayo Adedeji posited. The present sustenance of Nigeria and her immediate future lies with a disciplined unlocking of the potentials embedded in the peculiarities of her largely informal economy to design a bottom-up unique pathway to economic development.

* This one, for the records. https://image.nostr.build/49cce148438be1f3a4f4d821c287ec4140dbb7a8456a7f12beb65abd5e5c09eb.jpg


Pets, it turns out, also have last wishes before they die, but only known by veterinarians who put old and sick animals to sleep. Twitter user Jesse Dietrich asked a vet what was the most difficult part of his job.
The specialist answered without hesitation that it was the hardest for him to see how old or sick animals look for their owners with the eyes of their owners before going to sleep. The fact is that 90 % of owners don't want to be in a room with a dying animal. People leave so that they don't see their pet leave. But they don't realize that it's in these last moments of life that their pet needs them most.
Veterinarians ask the owners to be close to the animals until the very end. "It's inevitable that they die before you. Don't forget that you were the center of their life. Maybe they were just a part of you. But they are also your family. No matter how hard it is, don't leave them.
Don't let them die in a room with a stranger in a place they don't like. It is very painful for veterinarians to see how pets cannot find their owner during the last minutes of their life. They don't understand why the owner left them. After all, they needed their owner’s consolation.
Veterinarians do everything possible to ensure that animals are not so scared, but they are completely strangers to them. Don't be a coward because it's too painful for you. Think about the pet. Endure this pain for the sake of their sake. Be with them until the end." https://image.nostr.build/f3752f900d0bf25ad8aa6a5705607f4be2267158c5ba7787d47bba283668759c.jpg


Sell?

Here we HOLD nostr:note1t46lkn5stk8pf9lg6986qgptewume97lf9s9ufwvsgjl4e5z26hshzvyjr


Sell ?? here we hold


Just for gags https://image.nostr.build/f03b48b615b7e9ba306e8fed55b9baba4297d01e4de1664e0f58a0c4f537446b.jpg


how it feels to be told to do something you was already gonna do https://image.nostr.build/fb24039c86ddbb27551d7d7fe8a0af867fd2a65fe569232f82af6d964bb9c146.jpg


A chair for me and a chair to put my legs on. https://image.nostr.build/b806b520e8afe85fa111f3d9be2b60c1576f89201ea8ba14e57753a6dce2e673.jpg


You never know how close you are. Never give up on your dream. Disappointment is inevitable but discouragement is a choice. Never give up. https://image.nostr.build/1d25484ad22e7d34cfc4d5a84f0dbdbd878fbd3f1ef2e8fbe006b3805be12051.jpg


Just for gags https://image.nostr.build/8ce6ad030efc51b71a347e053a090159b75f8389dd8af941c906823d7d5a05ed.jpg


Your attitude towards your problems decides your happiness. https://image.nostr.build/2bdb9490d873a9236b862c78b6b0a1724b323e5dc0c49b790701e66b9d2d24d9.jpg


South African photographer Mark Dumbleton took this picture of a female lion after she lost one of her teeth in a violent fight with a predator. All this in order to protect her young, who survived in the end while she was hugging him with blood filling her face.
Little Ali did not seem to care about the extent of his mother’s suffering, but he will soon learn the extent of the sacrifice she made for him after he grows up and becomes responsible for protecting the herd.

Image Credit goes to respective owner https://image.nostr.build/eede4c5f65df517cc43b41f009e499e0d2038b560525a2a21ad961a3deff5243.jpg


It's currently harvest season for chili peppers in Dafang County of Bijie, southwest China's Guizhou Province. Locals are taking advantage of the sunny weather to pick, transport, weave, and dry the peppers, creating a picturesque scene of early autumn abundance in the fields and around their homes.

Dafang has a long history of chili pepper cultivation. The region's climate and soil conditions are ideal for growing peppers. Peppers here, especially "wrinkled peppers," are known for their thick flesh, bright red color, moderate spiciness, and rich aroma. In 2008, the China National Food Industry Association (CNFIA) designated Dafang as the "Hometown of Wrinkled Peppers."

Dafang wrinkled pepper products have not only been popular in China's domestic market for many years but have also been exported to Japan, South Korea, and other Asian countries since the 1950s, earning a high reputation. #ChinaSeen https://image.nostr.build/2bc09a20175b0a0e4a50baa5a0bb31709f49bf8e4d084ee4c847a26bb8952f78.jpg https://image.nostr.build/31fb6a2c1f4aa3d6445e62e9de499b55625696c8762b649b55def4e4fea3bb0b.jpg


Ever felt like a problem is too tough to crack? Proving this trigonometric identity shows that with focus and persistence, no challenge is insurmountable! Keep the momentum going - #miyaztechspace #mathforfun https://image.nostr.build/2c6490d5c7d8d25a3224441b129aa74b2da39eabcb6f38b216647d54ed5dc314.jpg https://image.nostr.build/45d2deab988bede0d1a4c82ebe38a96680ae83dd33b29913386c7ee22ce25535.jpg


FREE DUROV https://image.nostr.build/477e3b4ca9490f0833693e2da7696b4bbddba5df0eb973cc846c31179035f0c8.jpg


FREE DUROV https://image.nostr.build/e1d18fda3a34c928c468db2d0a32d90b7c07328d64faa5be72f26edaa6343697.jpg


*Nobody*
The boss making sure no one is happy at work: https://image.nostr.build/9bfa8b30c78de3cbe98be93fb7b85be62f70384c9a9d86694d8bd8305df15890.jpg


🌈🦄🏳🌈🏳🌈🌈🏳🌈🌈🏳🌈 https://image.nostr.build/cb7e3dd69f22e72b44215f769db1937656a4b063f5afcb2b85c9ee6b4e594dff.jpg


A finished man. https://image.nostr.build/3425a2de0764f14427ca411a584e89a6433789698bcd42eec9d4f7a8d5a79e40.jpg


A statue in Istanbul to honor Tombili, a famous stray cat. He used to sit in this position and watch passers-by. https://image.nostr.build/9ebfca2de9eb5e4c15e8d6b2224d398c209956a9329ced5c6b0339e34dd4b2e6.jpg


Bruh, my chicken nugget feelin some type way!! 🤷🏼♂🤣 https://image.nostr.build/b66f819a687074ea9c93a30675da3ce2749c46d25e27ea0e1abefddcdfc3d587.jpg https://image.nostr.build/236ba25fcf557093311414694a023148d50e1086b4ed857a7e160a23ca0af3dc.jpg


my face when a stranger touches me https://image.nostr.build/b08e30f38aa4d07ae5a87666b0733717567e45ff98efc143167a8520ed1f50e9.jpg


The truth will set you free, but first it will piss you off. https://image.nostr.build/dc0bfd05f2ee055cb4b4f52b0db9a787b6718c68dd8190420d214be369ab103d.jpg


“What the herd hates most is the one who thinks differently; it is not so much the opinion itself, but the audacity of wanting to think for themselves, something that they do not know how to do." https://image.nostr.build/a04759426ff20b8f857e71fec96e0575ab1790e26436863d85a4e47c19fce12a.jpg


The annual "Firefall" at Horsetail falls in Yosemite. This happens once a year when the sun lines up perfectly to reflect off the falls this way, making it look like a 'firefall' instead of a waterfall 😍🔥

Credits to the amazing photographer 📸 https://image.nostr.build/6240f0808efd164e32a94202374dea919da6872a92fa7aae844356d025b25dd2.jpg


Women's Wisdom Hour - Simone de Beauvoir
...was a French existentialist philosopher, writer, social theorist, and feminist activist. Though she did not consider herself a philosopher, nor was she considered one at the time of her death, she had a significant influence on both feminist existentialism and feminist theory. https://image.nostr.build/0c4241dfb4752070db875aec8827da7fdc1b12446c736055a6439a071c18885b.jpg


"There is a kind of sadness that comes from knowing too much, from seeing the world as it truly is. It is the sadness of understanding that life is not a grand adventure, but a series of small, insignificant moments, that love is not a fairy tale, but a fragile, fleeting emotion, that happiness is not a permanent state, but a rare, fleeting glimpse of something we can never hold onto. And in that understanding, there is a profound loneliness, a sense of being cut off from the world, from other people, from oneself."

Virginia Woolf https://image.nostr.build/ff0afef453d0cb35a8f466045c69d34afb6fe6669c2fc2d2d624b1781f8cfb0c.jpg


“Oscar Wilde said that if you know what you want to be, then you inevitably become it - that is your punishment, but if you never know, then you can be anything. There is a truth to that. We are not nouns, we are verbs. I am not a thing - an actor, a writer - I am a person who does things - I write, I act - and I never know what I am going to do next. I think you can be imprisoned if you think of yourself as a noun.”

~Stephen Fry — in New York, NY, United States. https://image.nostr.build/a09883eb22a7d5c48b427831faac1baba24d1e5a7ff2bc5d2d6c87a87f6a8a70.jpg


If you don't get it, forget about it 🤐🤐🤐🤐🤐🤐🤐🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣 https://image.nostr.build/d5cddfc9b0c3a96dc02b260a992c8b81dc0f6929f221eac44f27f2e190868653.jpg


The way i laugh when she is the one paying for the bill 😄😄 https://image.nostr.build/955260c35180d0c0b45e55cef02b0964ee742582c10d24fa213d535040980613.jpg


This how hard I be laughing at her jokes when she paying😂 https://image.nostr.build/955260c35180d0c0b45e55cef02b0964ee742582c10d24fa213d535040980613.jpg


The Death of Icarus
Artist: Alexandre Cabanel  "French" https://image.nostr.build/ba187f869f94f03b385afa2fd587e3eb8807094a50d9a8da6f8a16b716b51f90.jpg


Out of point


Not so sure


Blind limitation of today's society. https://image.nostr.build/e2faec74f72d5218aa611edc184a2b79a3b2888bcda028ce6d595d2bf648d19a.jpg


🧷🧷 https://image.nostr.build/dd167e50e11e718d34314bafe2788b16b349be6d459e6ec4a5144442858f273d.jpg


Kaboom nostr:note1sllpezamus3gsyrhdnyyuygy3nwgaw7ux0z93xgnht33fqts6cgq5tjunr


Pain will be over once it’s done teaching you.. 🖤™™ https://image.nostr.build/6b440d86cb93f6665db126f002104092550dc4f447acbff675165bdb18ba9431.jpg


The most comprehensive explanation so far

Good morning/good day foreigners https://image.nostr.build/5bace1c8e3b674c3c6828708cc531aeb6b8948d3bc65d1068ad1566294e9e73d.jpg


🧷 https://image.nostr.build/0cb4c7938787eb953c827b44307edd73daec5329877759c2377826f306c0f936.jpg


Essence of light
40cm40cm
Digital painting https://image.nostr.build/0703acf77c355a7456e14f70cb7be1acbc85783ec11256597212c73f981e3a38.jpg


Your dream doesn't come with an expiration date, take a deep breath and try again. https://image.nostr.build/d60c458664cebc8de010cc962968e0e248b63689f3fa0ee26de2f53754d6d27d.jpg


This is the part when you get mute


WTF


WtF


For those of you who are still on Twitter, I had a long debate thread today with Parker Lewis about Nostr.  I'm a big fan of Parker, so I figured I'd share it here for shared learning.

Here's the latest post. I'm not sure it'll be the last or not but it's the latest one as of this writing. You can scroll up to see the exchange from the start.
https://x.com/LynAldenContact/status/1828553130717442443

Linking to my own post in isolation is bad form and the thumbnail is awkward depending on what client you're using, so I'll also provide a pic of the start of the debate too, with two posts of his and one of mine.

I'd be open to any thoughts about this debate.

https://m.primal.net/KQga.png


Rico ???


This is crazy


"Not all toxic people are cruel and uncaring. Some of them love us dearly. Many of them have good intentions. Most are toxic to our being simply because their needs and way of existing in the world force us to compromise ourselves and our happiness. They aren’t inherently bad people, but they aren’t the right people for us. And as hard as it is, we have to let them go. Life is hard enough without being around people who bring you down, and as much as you care, you can’t destroy yourself for the sake of someone else. You have to make your wellbeing a priority. Whether that means breaking up with someone you care about, loving a family member from a distance, letting go of a friend, or removing yourself from a situation that feels painful — you have every right to leave and create a safer space for yourself." - Daniell Koepke https://image.nostr.build/93a7ac310ad9ae781da1551f8c1f5bed1fa6a7d4b32c6b74fa9767c7a637dc78.jpg


Silly but holds great magnitude of truth https://image.nostr.build/19e5798d46008a23bf9a5a07aad84ee90ae883bf23ec6407648e3d0bfdb8e7af.jpg


Made from scraps https://image.nostr.build/3a203790ba820c3df1e38ab3e722ccfdd3c34fd4c36b5d7dacc8eb7cccf53455.jpg


⚜🔰⚜ https://image.nostr.build/1c5e4c704cbdde966ac4e7f7c4612000d8650efdaec88da2087b445c29368b5f.jpg


😂 https://image.nostr.build/4174de0267d137fb59d45c26cb956745a32981637b2ca7e207090fbb6e14ca25.jpg


🖤🖤 https://image.nostr.build/ce583141dfe5d3b21d6243944fdd7e1082aa5330b3370292da43e5f72fcaa324.jpg


Don’t let no body teach you how to be you.


Evolve https://image.nostr.build/fd62493fc7540d44d057ac19e9829677181621d1509503eac40279236a9a805b.jpg


Change your mindset now. https://image.nostr.build/f89cecceb7df7e74c49bf1bf6daf156f2f78dc6ea72e585f6b8f043eaf79ff65.jpg


Men i do not know we now read minds

Women!! https://image.nostr.build/a7793a25a6a02a503fa98a7c4ab2dc498df482aad01f508daa8ff92f2d036cfd.jpg


Sometimes this is what’s absolutely needed 😂 https://image.nostr.build/87eca97ad041863167ed3f850d7ae3e9bec6c97e9ef37eb796c728c2963fe453.jpg


Oh really


Every next level of your life will demand a different you.

It’s a warning https://image.nostr.build/8af44e47e824666683e12f45a98692ee1fdee6978fca50aa8f278fbfbedab2f3.jpg


When someone pulls out in front of me and drives slow af https://image.nostr.build/56bd1f3f499bd992c9f0dcb427df3527bd408c0e35e93895ead913fffbc3e2df.jpg


Good day
🔰🔰🔰🔰
      🔰🔰Foreigners


What!


Have a good week foreigners https://image.nostr.build/16c6444f507558def1a5b444aa79d52e562084039b8469c1b55b1e4f9d7bf5f5.jpg


You and your AI Chatbot “Assistant(s)”!
__It can be quite remarkable. Give it a try.

By now you should have at least one AI Chatbot "Assistant." Personally, I have quite a few because I have made it my business to try out as many as I can, as part of my efforts to get into AI and grow with it.

So, how many Chatbots are you using, and what are you using them for?

If you have not yet downloaded an AI Chatbot Assistant, you might want to try out the free version of Anthropic’s "Claude" 3.5 Sonnet. I have already upgraded to its subscription version called Claude Pro.

I have been amazed how my AI “skills” are growing each day as I play with all sorts of AI apps, some which I now subscribe for on a monthly basis.

To be honest, within a year, anyone who answers a question they don’t know by guessing will be considered a fool; you will just say, “Give a moment whilst I ask my AI Assistant”...

Every morning when I do Bible study, I no longer use a “concordance” to find scriptures. Instead I use Claude with simple prompts like: “Find me the verse in which Jesus said xxx” and two seconds later I have it. I can even go deeper and ask for references.

Then again, I also use Claude to check data or dates or find out who said something. The other day I asked Claude to write a poem to my wife... [Being an engineer, I could not write a poem to save myself!]

Then I asked Claude to help me write a letter to my mother in my mother tongue!

In next week’s post, I want to show you how you can make money from AI, right now!

But meanwhile make sure you have your own AI Assistant ready so that you don’t have to ask silly questions. It’s time to get practical now!

By the time we next Chat, I want you to have downloaded your own AI Apps from amongst the hundreds now available and tell me how you are using them. Perhaps you might even be on your way to launch something of your own. At Cassava AI we have already built several that are generating money for us!

Have some fun with this!

Now here's a "first draft" poem for African entrepreneurs written by Claude [in a few seconds] when asked to create a poem for you based on today's image... [and a few other guiding prompts].

Pillars of Promise

From African skies, light beams down,
Illuminating paths to renown.
Like these rays that pierce the night,
Your ideas can shine just as bright.

Each pillar stands tall and strong,
As your dreams have all along.
From the shore to distant seas,
Your vision spreads with gentle ease.

The darkness parts, new dawn's in sight,
Your hard work glows with inner light.
Build your future, column by column,
In Africa's rise, play your solemn part.

Let doubts fade like shadows on sand,
Your potential's vast as sky and land.
These beams of hope light up the way,
For entrepreneurs to seize the day.

By Claude

Why not give it a try yourself this week, and send me what you and your Chatbot come up with!

Can't wait to read.

Image credit and caption. "The luminous beams of the moon penetrate the clouds, producing a rare visual phenomenon." This image was posted on a FB page attributed to the NASA James Webb Space Telescope.  My team asked Claude if the image was generated by AI... Claude replied it didn't believe so, and gave fascinating technical reasons why. If I use AI-generated images here, I always say so. What do you think? With thanks to V.Boltik for sharing this glimpse of an ethereal sight. https://image.nostr.build/d4d095de209cefb4e71a32898c2b857a32ee87e7e1adf6e12c34c783d4120910.jpg


Skin walker


I warned you https://image.nostr.build/80732db706f78ef4038bb993da8cdc7ddb1bf788059c270959cbeb33a3c7a38d.jpg


As a matter of fact 💯💯


Good

      Morning

             Foreigners


Sensational


Far from it
Open up your mind and learn.


Did you know that:
- one spoonful of honey is enough to keep a person alive for 24 hours
- one of the first coins in the world featured a bee symbol
- honey contains live enzymes. The metal spoon kills these enzymes. The best way to consume honey is with a wooden spoon, if not, you can use a plastic one.
- honey contains a substance that helps the brain function.
- honey is one of the few foods on earth that alone can sustain human life.
- bees saved people from starvation in Africa.
- propolis produced by bees is one of nature's most powerful antibiotics.
- honey has no expiration date.
- the bodies of the world's greatest emperors were buried in golden coffins and then covered with honey to prevent them from rotting.
- the term "honeymoon" comes from the fact that the young couple consumed honey for fertility purposes after marriage.
- a bee lives less than 40 days, visits at least 1,000 flowers and produces less than a teaspoon of honey, but for her it is the work of a lifetime.
Thank you, dear bees! https://image.nostr.build/b730c8c7a0a857e5dde453403dd0d00a65c2856a05bbe004b75de05b8aaa89ba.jpg


3400 yo painter's palette from ancient Egypt, Amenhotep III era. https://image.nostr.build/72b4a8b4509b893655adf6a6e7e1f60d82ef821f913ebbc5358028bf327c7b50.jpg


Fоur generatiоn in оne wedding photo. 💍💙💞 https://image.nostr.build/a99a6a33920a59ec18421306ea2f4c4d000b3eaa0030bd263d478b4a52d80d96.jpg


Pay attention to the things he said https://video.nostr.build/88fd77e49ab8cefebaddfbd391eee24db5193f9c70bd521492343febc0d44435.mp4


This pic says a lot… Very sad. https://image.nostr.build/745bf52f90d8a4e31f9dbd9e30e85ac4be62e92c5056ee69abdfc02641284c8d.jpg


Painting by Oswaldo Guayasamin https://image.nostr.build/f775804c16a7d656bcf5a8e82c6a09dcba76d1ce7754cdcaa787e0cfbbd5ac35.jpg


Pencil Tip Carving Art By Salavat Fidai | @salavat.fidai [IG] https://image.nostr.build/2b3a306e3412f4649ba3e56e28a740206ab27604045555398fe842491578829a.jpg


So Adorable! The Artist cleverly transforms foliage into sleeping baby birds https://image.nostr.build/c30c3364b01bac2fcd9c9ae60503dad3925a940a30d0338a565b948e9e7bfb56.jpg


🇱🇧 Lebanon plunged into complete darkness with total power outage in WHOLE country. https://image.nostr.build/e26bc00d66bbb880de83fa714b3ba337f05b27889d51028e0f3e74d11b288ef3.jpg


Rainbow Lobster. It is in the Mediterranean Sea. https://image.nostr.build/71d854198c5f095087617214a8eddd5c2530957957d3e6e8a4cd4a8d9c37b53f.jpg


Not men, it’s the woman get that straight


The person caught the same fish a month and a half later. https://image.nostr.build/eb61a76b89a337644c80f2c911f1314ef6a7390ea1cc6817f5159d3b06ae220a.jpg


Sir David Attenborough is pictured with a colossal thigh bone from a titanosaur, one of the largest dinosaurs ever to walk the Earth. In 2013, a shepherd in Argentina’s Chubut Province made a remarkable discovery on La Flecha farm, spotting the tip of a massive fossil bone protruding from the ground.

This led to an excavation by paleontologists, who uncovered the 2.4-meter (8-foot) femur, along with over 220 bones from at least seven titanosaur individuals. The dinosaur, estimated to be 37 meters long and weighing around 70 tonnes, is believed to have lived approximately 100 million years ago, making it the largest known species to have ever existed. https://image.nostr.build/90b1a7b2626c264262d97a2f97317d2d3b5ebb8a03d5411d8c65132f98d1fb38.jpg


🙀🙀🙀 https://image.nostr.build/42c690cd79990589433ee3316eb9f83f2817c348c9986d82ac6bb60227935329.jpg


https://i.nostr.build/LDEnsczF4u9EYI89.jpg  nostr:note12k4qtuwa3k7smkv3a6mmemdpxpvxnhfj890v2svs3yt8y4zy34yqhgl70p


Saguaro National Park in Arizona 😲😍 https://image.nostr.build/afca80c612b09eeb6a4a12f51e61711f3056375c92b3f774782b2b9c5aa8d627.jpg


Brazilian surfer Gabriel Medina was forced to remove an Image of Jesus from his surfboard during the Paris Olympics or he risked being Disqualified. He scored a near-perfect 9.90 wave on Day 3 of the surfing competition in Tahiti (the highest score in Olympic history.)

Photographer Jerome Brouillet captured the iconic moment Medina & his surfboard defied gravity and floated parallel above the water during The 2024 Paris Olympic Games. https://image.nostr.build/3e0d2dc9bf4dd9d0491691931ed29d50268d3d6e2769ebaeb9eeb4a6d2d30374.jpg


A lock of Lucrezia Borgia's hair in a glass case at the Pinacoteca Ambrosiana, Milan, Italy. https://image.nostr.build/7527ced781922c2f1c638f12115c4a36ed7eef2034896c753946785c660c24c2.jpg


1937 Cadillac V16 Hartmann Cabriolet. https://image.nostr.build/5f04d24cf3ee44aa6c92d9b0ac1e01c7a387e7c03eaa378374f714039edd5fd7.jpg


The world’s oldest known boomerang was discovered in Poland, at a site called Obłazowa Cave, in the Carpathian Mountains, in 1960. This ancient boomerang, dating back over 20,000 years old, was carved from a mammoth tusk. Measuring roughly 71 centimeters (28 inches) in length, it is an incredible example of early human craftsmanship.

Unlike the typical Australian boomerangs, which are designed to return to the thrower, this prehistoric boomerang was likely used for hunting and did not have a returning design. Its aerodynamic shape allowed it to be thrown with great force and accuracy, making it an effective weapon for taking down prey from a distance. The find is significant because it shows that boomerangs, or similarly shaped throwing tools, were used far beyond Australia and much earlier than previously thought. https://image.nostr.build/184b3fe4f7231505679e8739dd9e88024c492e0c4ddd1926f1e35ae9f6871406.jpg


An ancient Greek kylix showing a baby sitting in his pottychair and calling to his mother. ca. 480 BCE, the Royal Museums of Art and History, Brussels. And a 6th Century BCE potty found in the Athenian Agora. Agora Museum, Athens https://image.nostr.build/f809f60ce23f8b3c74b47c6bc94bf1b55bbf1d0f58b4ec709ec8f510213b6643.jpg https://image.nostr.build/f809f60ce23f8b3c74b47c6bc94bf1b55bbf1d0f58b4ec709ec8f510213b6643.jpg


The lions be like

Walking delicious snack


This is extremely huge


Here's my profile for Reason on Nostr and why it could very well change the world

Pasting a few paragraphs here, you can find the rest at the link

Feel free to spread far and wide 😉

*************

Can Nostr Make Twitter's Dreams Come True?

Twitter's founder says Nostr is “100 percent what we wanted”—an open, ownerless network

Alex Gladstein | 8.13.2024

Virtually everyone agrees that social media is broken. On Facebook, X, Instagram, and TikTok, people fear out-of-control algorithms, fake news, state actor censorship, and propaganda. Google and Meta collect vast troves of personal information on their users and receive hundreds of thousands of requests every year from governments around the world to access that data. YouTube has become arguably "the most powerful media platform in the history of humanity," yet its algorithm is an ever-changing black box to the creators that populate the platform with videos. During the pandemic, federal officials were in contact with every major social media platform, coercing them to remove content.

The problem is centralized control. We can't trust companies to run our primary communications infrastructure. Government regulation only makes matters worse because it creates new legal barriers to entering the industry, which protects incumbent players and stifles innovation.

What if there were an alternative, not owned by Elon Musk, Mark Zuckerberg, or the Chinese Communist Party? What if there were a way to control your own data to prevent companies from harvesting and monetizing it? What if you had granular control over what you see in your feed, with the freedom to choose your own algorithms? What if you owned your identity, which could be accessed seamlessly across different clients? That way, if you disapprove of the changes that Elon Musk brought to X, instead of closing your account you could take your handle and followers elsewhere.

That alternative exists. It's called "Notes and Other Stuff Transmitted by Relays"—or Nostr.

The Decentralized Solution

Invented by a pseudonymous programmer and overwhelmingly funded by grants from non-profit foundations, this decentralized, free, and open-source protocol has been quietly evolving for the past three years. Like bitcoin, Nostr is a community-run digital network highly resistant to censorship and corruption. It has 40,000 weekly active users and a growing ecosystem of clients and applications ranging from social media to long-form publishing to payments.

Nostr is only necessary because our existing internet is so broken.

Fifteen years ago, social media seemed destined to decentralize the world and give power back to the people. In 2009, we watched as Arab Spring activists used Twitter and Facebook to organize, coordinate, and help topple several long-standing dictatorships. The promise was that these new social platforms, designed by Silicon Valley entrepreneurs, could help liberate the masses.

It was intoxicating—but turned out to be a mirage. The Arab revolutions stalled out when brutal military regimes cracked down. These platforms became tools for spying and censoring their users. X and Facebook have helped journalists and human rights activists reach bigger audiences, but they haven't fulfilled their revolutionary promise.

Jack Dorsey's Shift from Bluesky to Nostr

This was a major theme at the 2024 Oslo Freedom Forum, which is put on annually by the Human Rights Foundation, where I serve as chief strategy officer. At this conference for democracy and human rights, Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey told the audience that the problem was, actually, guys like him: The very fact that Twitter, now X, has a CEO makes it a single point of failure. Governments routinely pressured Dorsey to censor content; once the company's offices in India were raided. Dorsey says that under the new Musk regime X complies with whatever governments want.

The X network is proprietary. Known as a "silo," this construct traps a user's identity, followers, and data. X also has the power to evict anyone from the platform and delete what they've written. Several years ago, when he was still running the company, Dorsey became convinced that Twitter should become an application instead, where users could post content to an open, ownerless network. This would make it similar to how bitcoin works, where you use an application called a wallet to interact with the network, but the network itself is neutral and open.

Building a non-proprietary architecture was Dorsey's original vision for Twitter, but over time the need to maximize revenue to build a business and serve shareholders undermined that goal.

Nevertheless, in 2021, Dorsey encouraged the creation of Bluesky—an initiative bootstrapped in-house to create that open neutral base layer. But after Musk bought the company, the managers of Bluesky were afraid they would run out of money and started raising funds from venture capitalists, which undermined the vision of building an open platform. Dorsey grew disenchanted and left the Bluesky board.

At the conference in Oslo, Dorsey explained what happened next:

I asked a question: What open source initiatives should I be funding that would be helpful to the public internet? And people kept tweeting at me that I should be looking at Nostr. I found the GitHub that described it and it was 100 percent what we wanted from Bluesky, but it wasn't developed from a company. It was completely independent. Its paper diagnosed every single problem we saw and had. But did it in a grassroots and dead simple way, that felt like the early Twitter where any developer could get on and really feel it.

Escaping the 'Golden Prisons'

Nostr was created in 2020 by the pseudonymous Brazilian programmer fiatjaf, who describes it as "the simplest open protocol that is able to create a censorship-resistant global 'social' network once and for all."

Though nobody is in charge, Nostr works as promised and is thriving. "It is the solution we've all been looking for," says Miljan Braticevic, founder of Primal, one of the two dozen plus clients now available for the Nostr protocol. "Nostr is not a Twitter competitor or a Mastodon competitor. This is the biggest misconception at the moment. That's just the tip of the iceberg. Nostr is nothing less than the foundation for the new internet. Meaning almost every conceivable app we have today will be built on Nostr."

Braticevic's prediction is echoed by at least a dozen other prominent developers. Martti Malmi, the first coder to work on bitcoin alongside Satoshi Nakamoto, is now a Nostr developer. In a recent talk, he said he had started to work on similar ideas around decentralized identity in 2019, only to come close to giving up. But then he found fiatjaf's invention, which he called a "godsend."

"Bitcoin is freedom of money, and Nostr is freedom of everything else," Malmi said. "I was there" in the earliest days of bitcoin, "and Nostr is even more intense."

For something that could be world-changing, Nostr is quite simple. To join, you sign up with a mobile or desktop client, which helps you to create a public and private key pair. The public key (or "npub") is used as your identifier, and you share it with clients and other users so that people can find your posts or pay you for your content. The private key ("nsec") is hidden by the user, stored safely (just like a bitcoin seed phrase), and is your way to log in to different services. Unlike platforms like X or Facebook, no other information is required to set up and use Nostr.

This gives users a powerful range of sovereignty. You can use a client, for example, that has strong hate speech controls. Or you can choose one that doesn't have any at all. You can use a client with aggressive algorithms, just like the ones X uses today. Or you can use one without any algorithm at all. Today, when you log in to an app like Primal, you can sort your feed by what's the latest, by what's most popular, by what's most zapped, or by customized keywords. It's up to you.

Last month, the macroeconomist Lyn Alden, author of one of the best books on bitcoin, published a long essay about Nostr's potential:

[Nostr] is a simple set of foundational building blocks that, if widely adopted, could gradually reshape "the Web" as we know it. Instead of a separate set of siloed social ecosystems, we could gravitate toward a more interoperable set of ecosystems, with more of the power dispersed to the content creators and to the audience, and away from the middlemen corporations.

The Nostr network is constructed like a spider web that can morph and regenerate, making it almost impossible to censor. When you set up a client on Nostr (perhaps, Primal or Damus on iOS; Amethyst on Android; or Coracle on the web), you choose from a variety of relays to connect to. This architecture ensures no single point of failure: If you are connected to seven or eight relays, and half of them choose to censor posts, your feed remains censorship-free, as your app will display the net sum of everything broadcast from each relay. If the Chinese government decides to attack your relays—as it did in 2023 when Damus launched on the Hong Kong and mainland app store—then more can be spun up. "The enemy," said Damus creator Will Casarin, "is too numerous."

Prominent bitcoin developer and educator Gigi—who switched to Nostr and deleted his X account—says that what helped it become so resilient is that it has zero exit cost. If the Chinese Communist Party bans YouTube, its domestic users lose everything. There's no way to get back their profiles and followers. The same is true if a user voluntarily closes an account.

Gigi calls these corporate silos "golden prisons" with no escape. Nostr's spider-like architecture makes escaping easy. If one client goes down, or you fail to connect to one relay, you just find another client or connect to another relay. You keep your posts, photos, preferences, contacts, and even algorithms of choice. If you use X, you are an X creator. But if you use Primal, you aren't a Primal creator, you are a Nostr creator.

https://reason.com/2024/08/13/can-nostr-make-twitters-dreams-come-true/


You absolutely can’t


🌺 Giant Elephant Ear (Colocasia esculenta 'Purple Miracle') 🌺

The vibrant, oversized purple leaves of this tropical plant create a stunning, dramatic display in the garden. The large, glossy foliage has a rich, deep purple hue that makes a striking visual impact.

Light: Partial shade to full sun.
Water: Consistently moist, well-draining soil.
Soil: Rich, organic-matter-rich soil.
Temp: 60-85°F (16-29°C).
Humidity: Moderate to high.
Fertilizer: Monthly with a balanced, water-soluble fertilizer.

This eye-catching, statement plant adds a bold, tropical flair to any garden or landscape. The vibrant, colorful leaves are a beautiful focal point. The two people standing in front of the giant elephant ears create a lovely scene, showcasing the dramatic scale and impressive growth of this plant.🌺 https://image.nostr.build/5b43f169435f98afd69c355ea08c8f1f16a707c5291161f14326ad2d37cff3ad.jpg


🖤For
   💙Real
      💛For
         ❤Real.. https://image.nostr.build/aa29a1f57a0e8538507b7412b9b35a86daa713340eb92316cd12854bc76663a3.jpg


🔞⚠ https://image.nostr.build/662eb348cd8dcca461764f405b4cb1321d5bb1f02117887019ecfe4e116f1673.jpg


🖤🖤🖤 https://image.nostr.build/00b717f3785cf19801c7004c0ab48801765790527d9ca5f2c80d6fc6b4187e35.jpg


🖤🤍 https://image.nostr.build/81540e671dad0ddbd51abf839a7c310b42297a769ca8d97f7ed4124ed01cb6de.jpg


He saw things differently from that day on https://image.nostr.build/673e72d2d5b0a9d34a5bb1e8fdaf51bc7d56fe3e912ed657bbc110e0f58fe7ec.jpg


🖤 https://image.nostr.build/a6a6356e744ccf3d64c0c1f4e58008e70240f73354cb3a6bdd66625749adc20c.jpg


This is the problem with the world no body can tell the sun where to be it can anywhere


Actor Clint Eastwood sat on a motorbike with Manis the orangutan on his back behind the scenes of the 1978 film "Every Which Way but Loose".

The film stars Clint Eastwood in an uncharacteristic and offbeat comedy role as Philo Beddoe, a trucker and bare-knuckle brawler roaming the American West in search of a lost love while accompanied by his brother/manager, Orville, and his pet orangutan, Clyde.
#america #explorer #ClintEastwood #everywhichwaybutloose https://image.nostr.build/b1bc5e360975b8d61dc3cc49c0301c88f398399236240f09159e4c753f87aa49.jpg


When the sky draws its own masterpiece 🎨🌄 https://image.nostr.build/6068335a65a9091d5b4cb1dcc7f22800935f5dc73c17e1d828e472c04c619608.jpg


Sculpture
20240724_#16 https://image.nostr.build/cd4518d6d013f10b56b8a093d5e2d0d5442753ba00438f35fa4bc856fde4f332.jpg


This is an asparagus fern. Looks like a tiny rain forest! https://image.nostr.build/2b6718a05ea7260b8e8c16eb326319f6e52224258ebe32ad91ee389406e2f0f8.jpg


14th century brooch depicting 3 penises carrying a vagina https://image.nostr.build/469c4ada487aa5d7babaac95b87c4deeee57d186b6ff209ac3ca2d91f1ea796a.jpg


Vintage
French Parisian clock Napoleon III gold and black marble.
19th Century https://image.nostr.build/040133a00328aefc403dfa1243c1f5318a904a66f68e8effcb0624082eebc14b.jpg


Grand Lisboa, Macau, China 🇨🇳
Photo By: @world_walkerz [IG] https://image.nostr.build/f3de8f5f8c3ccf4c2f41b500ef33ed9b3c85a1034ccfa23dcf1ab84a95b372b0.jpg


Idol Rock - England 🏴
The expansion of Brimham Moor in North Yorkshire, England, houses a series of curious rock formations formed by tens of thousands of years of erosion, but the most impressive of all is Idol Rock, a 200-ton monolith that swings on a tiny pyramidal base.
Looks like the 4.5-foot-tall Idol Rock is about to collapse, but it never does. Weighing an estimated 200 tonnes, this gigantic rock formation has been performing its astonishing balancing act since we got use of reason, defying the laws of physics and leaving visitors to Brimham Moor scratching their heads in awe. Also known as The Druids Idol or The Druid's Writing Desk, this unique attraction sits on a tiny piece of rock only a foot in circumference. Photos of him have been circulating on the Internet for years, and many claim it's just the result of Photoshop manipulation, but the Brimham Idol is very real, an example of Mother Nature's artistic talent.
All of Brimham Moor is considered one of the strangest settings in the UK. During the Victorian era, dozens of curiously shaped rocks made everyone think it was a place created by druids, and it wasn’t until the 20th century that people finally realized it was just the result of 18,000 years of constant erosion https://image.nostr.build/f0c1412320d16b4af7d088f4b0014978d322fe2bcba9cc0cd9e6890fdad3e645.jpg


🌻 Magnificent Sunflower (Helianthus annuus) 🌻

This captivating image showcases the breathtaking beauty of a magnificent Sunflower in full bloom. The flower head is a stunning of vibrant, sun-kissed yellow petals that radiate outward from the central dark brown disc, creating a truly captivating and eye-catching focal point.

Sunflowers are known for their cheerful, their ability to thrive in a wide range of growing conditions. This particular variety appears to be a large, highly cultivated sunflower, with a full, densely packed flower head that is characteristic of the Helianthus annuus species.

Light: Full sun
Water: Regular, keeping soil consistently moist but not waterlogged
Soil: Rich, well-draining
Temp: Warm, 70-85°F
Fertilizer: Balanced, slow-release in early spring

The vibrant yellow hues of the sunflower petals perfectly complement the deep blue sky and fluffy white clouds in the background, creating a harmonious and serene natural setting. Sunflowers are beloved for their ability to brighten any landscape and lift the spirits of all who encounter them.

With their striking appearance, easy care requirements, and ability to thrive in a variety of climates, sunflowers are a must-have addition to any garden or outdoor space. This magnificent is a true to the beauty and wonder of these flowers. https://image.nostr.build/0bba92e1081224d43f3a617b244c96289da5e7e1bd206eb1b0afccb25c0003f0.jpg


🌺 Mesmerizing Orchid Blossom 🌺

This captivating image showcases a truly remarkable orchid bloom, with its vibrant, intricate petals displaying a mesmerizing array of colors and patterns. The dominant hues of orange and teal create a striking visual contrast, while the delicate, almost translucent texture of the petals adds an ethereal quality to the flower.

The intricate, geometric patterning on the petals is simply stunning, resembling a mosaic or kaleidoscopic design. The central column of the orchid, with its distinctive shape and bold coloration, serves as the focal point, drawing the eye inward to the heart of this extraordinary blossom.

Light: Bright, indirect light
Water: Allow the potting mix to partially dry out between waterings
Soil: Well-draining, orchid-specific potting mix
Temperature: 65-85°F (18-29°C)
Humidity: Moderate to high (50-70%)
Fertilizer: Apply a balanced, orchid-specific fertilizer monthly during the growing season

This captivating orchid is a true work of natural art, showcasing the incredible diversity and beauty that can be found in the plant kingdom. Whether displayed in a greenhouse, garden, or home, this exceptional bloom is sure to inspire wonder and delight in all who witness its mesmerizing presence.🌺 https://image.nostr.build/9e6418f931dd838eea6cd61053d822f717a002694c066bc63e22eda914d343d5.jpg


Palais Garnier In Paris, France 🇫🇷
Photo By: @raphaelmetivet [IG] https://image.nostr.build/87338d249e5052c1f07c531c25098a8e2c5f9070746666680e3b02eb04eb9b3a.jpg


Sensational https://image.nostr.build/d4221b5fef8a198de0cb8d7410340789ec5429f760033e9c5b4db6d539efd1c1.jpg


✔📞 https://image.nostr.build/9fa90496d3167c7c2ed5a0f89c061626e8a39833a1703579f0ec9de57a758810.jpg


🌻 Magnificent Sunflower (Helianthus annuus) 🌻

This captivating image showcases the breathtaking beauty of a magnificent Sunflower in full bloom. The flower head is a stunning of vibrant, sun-kissed yellow petals that radiate outward from the central dark brown disc, creating a truly captivating and eye-catching focal point.

Sunflowers are known for their cheerful,  their ability to thrive in a wide range of growing conditions. This particular variety appears to be a large, highly cultivated sunflower, with a full, densely packed flower head that is characteristic of the Helianthus annuus species.

Light: Full sun
Water: Regular, keeping soil consistently moist but not waterlogged
Soil: Rich, well-draining
Temp: Warm, 70-85°F
Fertilizer: Balanced, slow-release in early spring

The vibrant yellow hues of the sunflower petals perfectly complement the deep blue sky and fluffy white clouds in the background, creating a harmonious and serene natural setting. Sunflowers are beloved for their ability to brighten any landscape and lift the spirits of all who encounter them.

With their striking appearance, easy care requirements, and ability to thrive in a variety of climates, sunflowers are a must-have addition to any garden or outdoor space. This magnificent is a true to the beauty and wonder of these flowers. 🌻✨ https://image.nostr.build/113fc7f737ec0378b41d44e863e3bd752d0e4e708d56ab76ec2e429a34243393.jpg