@haie wanted to know about the Pacific Bitcoin Festival. I said I might write something about it. But I've learned that 99.9% of the bonios on this board don't care about Bitcoin, so I'm not going to belabor the topic and bore everyone to tears. But I'll just briefly describe my six-day trip to Santa Monica, mainly focused on Bitcoin.
Arrived last Wednesday. Spent much of the day hanging out in Manhattan Beach. Received texts from
@JoeEDangerously and
@WoolleyDoog that we should do a pod on the upcoming Oregon game. When I said that I was in Santa Monica and we'd need to wait until the following week, Woolley mentioned that HE would be in Santa Monica that weekend for the WSU-UCLA game. When I asked him what hotel, it turned out he was in the SAME hotel I was staying at. This amounts to a "cool story bro", but seriously, what are the odds of something like that happening? (We were able to get together last Sunday for a massively overpriced lunch at a cafe near the hotel).
Hanging out in Manhattan Beach last Wednesday
Thursday and Friday were the days of the Pacific Bitcoin Festival. There were many panel discussions, interviews and book signings. I got to meet Ms. Universe El Salvador 2022. (See photo below). El Salvador is the only nation that has officially adopted Bitcoin as a currency. Ms. El Salvador travels around to promote awareness and Bitcoin education. I also had a cool conversation with the rap artist Tip_NZ (see photo below). She's a kiwi from New Zealand who used to be in high finance but then went down the Bitcoin rabbit hole and completely altered her profession because she believes in the power and justness of its mission. She uses her artistic talents to educate people about Bitcoin. I'll put my favorite song of hers below with a YouTube video clip. When she spoke at the conference about Bitcoin, you can tell this woman is ALL IN.
Also saw and listened to speakers like Tomer Strolight and brilliant author Erik Cason. Had a chance to talk to Paul Keating, who's a guy that works for author Paul Saladino.
Alejandra Guajardo, Ms. El Salvador 2022
Rapper Tip_NZ (left) and Cafe Bitcoin host Alex Stancwyk
Tip_NZ's video, Timechain
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X0BMg_70fo8Vijay Boyapati (another kiwi) gave a good speech talking about the differences between Bitcoin, gold and fiat. Going forward, Bitcoin will prove to be a boon not just to America but people across the third world as well. I'll post a video of his speech below
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zW0wwLiNXTEOn Saturday I wandered for several miles down Santa Monica Blvd and the famous pier. I struggled to understand how a place that could be so beautiful is kinda treated like a garbage dump. At one point, I was walking along the sidewalk in front of a Lexus dealership. You'd think this would be a clean and shiny area that exuded wealth and luxury, right? Au contraire. The brand-new vehicles were coated with a layer of dust. Garbage and fast food wrappers were strewn across the sidewalk. Up ahead, some yahoo was waving a wooden sword and shouting at something invisible in the air. I wasn't sure whether to cross the street or keep going. I elected to act like nothing was abnormal and kept walking right toward him. Suddenly his head snapped and he looked at me before lunging into a nearby alleyway. I didn't know how to interpret that so I kept walking. As I reached the alley, I glanced over and he was thirty feet down the street, pirouetting and slashing his sword at the air and shouting at some unseen whatever.
Over the weekend I played golf a couple times. I'm not of
@tequilla's caliber when it comes to golfing trips. He may have crossed Pebble Beach and Bandon Dunes off his bucket list. But for Stalin, I played the Rancho Park par 3... with the smallest greens I've ever witnessed. I rented clubs at $4 a piece; rusted clanging old irons that looked like they'd been manufacured during the Civil War. But I got used to them and had fun playing. Shot 36 and 33, respectively.
Finally, had lunch on Sunday with
@WoolleyDoog!*
* Okay, not actually WoolleyDoog.
Comments
Did you sweep Ms. El Salvador 2022 off her feet with tales of your successful, high-class internet business?
There are some really interesting Par 3 courses out there that have tons of history. One down in that area of the world that definitely has that reputation is a place called Goat Hill. Places like that are so incredibly important to the game of golf because they give opportunities for not only casual golfers to play and not feel overwhelmed but for the youth learning how to play the game in an environment that fosters learning. Growing up I a couple of the courses that I was able to play on the semi-regular (Monroe and Kenwanda) were great places to learn/develop but are now closed. You learn by playing as much as you do taking lessons and range time. Hearing the news this week that there's another shot getting made at repurposing Jackson Park is another one that hits me hard as the Par 3 course there was a place I used to spend summers at when young with my Grandma.
You're right on both Pebble and Bandon ... I've played Spyglass Hill and Links at Spanish Bay (and Poppy Hills) in the greater Pebble area but haven't played Pebble yet. At Bandon, I've played all of the original 4 plus the Preserve Par 3 course but have yet to get back down to play Sheep Ranch.
Bitcoin is such an interesting concept to me and one that I fully admit that I don't completely understand. Having countries recognize and treat it as an indexed and supported currency can and will be huge. What I can't get past is what protections are in place to prevent from the bottom just falling out at any given time ... but on the other hand, with inflation in hand combined with what could be transpiring around the world that could be a catalyst to greater understanding and adoption.
A bolt of lightening buzzed my tower one round
Who later became my ex wife. A fight ensued so I went looking for blow and a fuck. Strange place to find marching powder, but I saw a dude who looked very local, of all places a video store. Hooked me up with a baggy and a dark skinned native. I wouldnt sleep around on my girlfriend so I just finger fucked her asshole, while she dropped to her knees to gargle my cheese.
No shit, I smelled my digit and it was clean. Strangest thing. I expected an Aruba Aroma...nothing. I slept in the rental car on the beach, woke up all sandy and hung the next morn. Went back to the Marriot and made up with the lady . Pup pulled off a dandy and girlfriend deserved it later on..