So you want to learn about Bitcoin and CryptoCurrency …

Cryptocurrency has been in the headlines off and on for the better part of ten years or so. It’s the subject of much controversy and debate. Some claim that it’s a worthless fad comparable to the Tulip phenomenon from the Dutch Golden Age of the early 1600s. Others promote it as a decentralized answer to fiat currency and central banks. They claim it will provide banking and financial services to people who are without, including the Third World.

Bitcoin is now over ten years old and it’s gaining strength all the time. In that time it has inspired numerous other so-called alt-coins. I believe there are over 1,000 cryptocurrencies, but I could be wrong. Nevertheless, each alt-coin is derived from an individual project that has its own mission and purpose.

Can I Buy Stuff With Bitcoin?

At the present you can make purchases with Bitcoin. The opportunities for this are limited and may involve tremendous fees. However, when Elon Musk invested over a Billion dollars into Bitcoin he said that consumers would soon be able to purchase a Tesla automobile with the electronic currency. In what might be a surprise to no-coin naysayers, consumer purchases aren’t really the best use or even the intended use of the cryptocurrency.

In fact, most financial gurus tend to view Bitcoin as a store of value much like precious metals, art, or other collectibles. In fact, MicroStrategy’s Michael Saylor claimed that Bitcoin is the world’s best store of value and that CFOs would be remiss to not use it for their cash reserves. He calls institutional investing in Bitcoin “rational action in response to monetary inflation.”

How does it work?

Well, that’s complicated. In fact, I cannot claim to be an expert in this matter. However, suffice it to say that cryptocurrency relies on something called the Blockchain. This is the fundamental backbone of the cryptocurrency world. The blockchain ensures encrypted, secure transactions, but also an indelible record of each transaction. That is, in each transaction, both parties have a 64-digit code that is recorded in a ledger.

Before these transactions can complete, a network of disconnected (decentralized) computers much validate the parties and other aspects of the transaction. Thus, each transaction is scrutinized by the computer code in a matter of moments. Pretty slick, but keep in mind that Bitcoin’s transactions seem to be slower than many of the up-and-coming coins.

Decentralization

The key to all of this, and why Bitcoin is both so powerful and reviled, is decentralization. Central banks don’t want to give up their control over the monetary system. Meanwhile, individuals and (increasingly) corporations are eager to avoid inflationary fiat currency that is subject to the whim of regulators, politicians, and other singular people/places/orgs. That is, while Bitcoin is deflationary, it will reduce its supply in measured increments, according to its code. On the other hand, alt-coin Dogecoin is inflationary, but only insofar as its code allows new coins to come to market. Thus, Bitcoin is terrific for storing and building value and Doge is good for spending on caviar and Lambos – or hot pockets and VWs, depending on what you’re into.

Cryptocurrency 101: Mine Your Own Coin

Ok, so this all may seem a bit odd or overwhelming or weird. However, there’s one way to delve into the world of crypto without buying new equipment, investing in risky, volatile assets, or reading a ton of books/blogs and watching endless hours of YouTube videos (tho you should certainly do that.)

This way is to mine your own coins. The Pi Network is in the process of creating a new cryptocurrency using a decentralized network of mobile phone users. Each day users click their phone’s Pi app and increase their holdings. When you join you can read the network’s White Paper which provides loads of valuable information.

Pi Network was created by Stanford PhDs and has gained my trust with its transparency, attention to detail, and, well, my own Fear of Missing Out (FOMO.) That is, I would love for the hundreds of Pi I mine to someday carry the same valuation as Bitcoin, or even Ethereum. Here’s an invitation:

I am sending you 1π! Pi is a new digital currency developed by Stanford PhDs, with over 10 million members worldwide. To claim your Pi, follow this link https://minepi.com/HobieOne and use my username (HobieOne) as your invitation code.

Learn More About Cryptocurrency

Now, you probably landed on this page to learn even more. I am here to help. Here is a list of resources that I have curated to help no-coiners or the curious learn more about the future. Yup, I firmly believe that cryptocurrency is our future. Anyhow, please feel free to copy this list or bookmark this post so that you can return to learn more.

• Finematics (website)
• Finematics (YouTube)
• Cryptocurrency Primer (Investopedia)
• Crypto Primer (Fidelity)
• Technical Info & News on the Crypto Space
• Crypto News
• Tokenomics – (YouTube)
• CoinBureau – (YouTube)
• CoinBureau (website)
• Using Binance (vid)
• Pave the Way to Mass Adoption (CoinTelegraph 2/23/21)
• Outdated but Informative Crypto Primer
• How to Cash Out (CoinBureau vid)
• Crypto Daily – Important Truths (humor/truth/philosophy)
• Bitcoin: At the Tipping Point (Citibank White Paper)

Disclaimer: I'm neither a financial professional, a financial guru, a computer scientist, a cryptographer, nor a lion tamer. Please don't take my advice on financial matters. I do have solid opinions on, well, nothing. It's a Karmic Universe – get out and do stuff.

Non-Alcoholic Beer: The Next Generation

What’s the point of that?

I hear this question all the time when I mention nonalcoholic beer online. When I’m in public, I hear stifled chuckles when I point out the hoppy goodness.

However, that is all changing. All the time new studies are finally revealing the inherent harm that alcohol poses. Yes, even in small moderate doses. For those who are skeptical, please do some searches and seek out more info. I will do a more in-depth post on this later. TL;DR – Alcohol is detrimental to every system in the body, it does not reduce stress, and it makes you look like a jerk when you drink too much.

Anyhow, the whole point here is the SOLUTION to booze. That is, there’s a huge rising tide of nonalcoholic beers hitting the shelves. Heineken 0.0 burst out of the gate with a huge marketing campaign. Budweiser released a nonalcoholic version of its thin macro swill, and larger craft brewers like WellBeing and Samuel Adams have debuted delicious alternatives to their boozy product line.

My Grocery Store’s Non-Alcohol Craft Beer Selection is Limited

That’s a problem, for sure. However, you can order nonalcoholic craft beers from NA-Brews.com. They have a terrific and growing selection of some of the most choice nonalcoholic beers on the market. If you use the code HOBIE397 you will receive 10% off your purchase! Free money!

DISCOUNT CODE HOBIE397

Seriously, What’s the Point of Nonalcoholic Beer?

The point of these nonalcoholic craft beers is pure drinking enjoyment. New brewing practices allow brewers to essentially make the same beers they’d normally make and then extract the alcohol with minimal impact to flavor. Thus, when you come home from work you can have a hoppy beverage that is enjoyable and which many find relaxing soothing after a hard day.

Personally, I used to drink waay too much of the harmful stuff and I was rather surprised to find that the hop terpenes had an actual effect on me. I had been reading about terpenes with regards to cannabis and didn’t quite make the connection to hops. Of course, I also hadn’t discovered these terrific new beers, not to mention California’s Two Roots Brewing, who have a terpene-rich selection called Straight Drank.

This leads to a new header:

No Intoxication

Ok, that’s totally obvious. But it’s worth restating because now you can have one or two boozy beers and then still have more to drink, provided that you stick with a nonalcoholic beer. You could have an All-Out Stout from Athletic Brewing, for instance, or maybe a Pale Ale from Partake Brewing. YUM.

I also mentioned cannabis above. In the past, when you wanted to have a beer and a bowl, you ended up cross-faded (in the parlance of our times.) I never enjoyed this and found the balance difficult to manage. Now, if you live in one of the many legal cannabis states, you can enjoy ganja with your friends, drink a few tasty brews and be good to go once you’re no longer Stoned as a Bat.

When you’re stoned and crack open a nonalcoholic beer you can savor all the flavors and aromas without worrying that it might twist you out. Oh, let’s not forget one of the chief benefits to nonalcoholic beer:

NO HANGOVERS

What’s the Downside?

Well, there really is no downside from my point-of-view. However, in fairness, many beer aficionados do note that certain aspects of beer flavor are missing from nonalcoholic craft beers. I will freely admit that nonalcoholic stouts lack the mouth-feel that I associate with that variety. However, when you realize that the overall flavor remains, it’s hard to argue against nonalcoholic beers.

Further, many nonalcoholic craft beers are very low in calories. Partake’s Stout, for instance, has an amazing flavor but only TEN calories. Yeah. TEN calories. So you miss out on a mouth-feel but you can drive and wear your favorite pants… Put that in your pro/con spreadsheet and see where it balances.

Is there a Point to Nonalcoholic Craft Beer?

Ummm… I honestly find this a silly question. The implication is that if you don’t harm every organ in your body and impair your ability to speak, walk, think, and exist as a human being that there’s no point in having a beer.

Psst: No Hangovers

Ergo: YES. There is a point to drinking nonalcoholic beer. The point is to enjoy a terrific beverage that pairs well with food, is a terrific addition to a social setting, and even provides benefits in the form of terpene goodness and vitamins, too. The point of drinking nonalcoholic beer is to enjoy your life to its fullest without harming your life, your career, or your family. That’s the point.

The Pi Network: Cryptocurrency Mining

Back in 2017 Bitcoin was going bananas. People were posting tremendous gains on social media. One guy made a few thousand in a day, others were raking in 5 figures in the course of a week, many made loads more. I, however, was rather broke and also unsure of how to invest. I’d heard of Bitcoin at its inception but didn’t have the foggiest idea of how to trade it until a friend mentioned Coinbase.

I didn’t have much, so I threw in a sum I could lose … and I lost. Bitcoin was crashing. I thought I was buying a dip, but I’d bought the farm. My money never returned to the black except for brief moments that I never caught. I soon forgot it.

Fast forward three years or so and I checked my Coinbase account and found that my money had tripled. Without meaning to, I’d obeyed a primary rule of investing: hold on in the down times because things come back. That is to say: investing is a long game of patience and often a steely-eyed will that refuses to quit. That said, I took some of my profits and diversified a bit. I also know that no investor worth their salt sticks with only one asset. Diversity is strength.

Doge to the Moon!

Then came the Doge. Then came Elon Musk. Then came the Pi Network.

Reddit blew up a few stonks on the NASDAQ that I was too late to take advantage of. Then a splinter group started feeding the Dogecoin. I was in.

Thus my career as a crypto investor was writ in stone. I learned how to hold (hodl) my investments. I learned more about crypto in general, and I discovered a whole network of bloggers, publications, message boards (hello Reddit,) and Elon Musk’s Twitter feed. Hell, Elon Musk’s company Tesla put 1.5 Billion into Bitcoin. Tell me that doesn’t spell revolution for the crypto space.

The Pi Network

OK, now here’s where things get a bit more interesting. I’d missed the ground floor for Bitcoin, and most cryptocurrencies generally. I was not worried about that, but every investor dreams of buying Amazon when it was a humble bookseller run by a rich kid out of his garage. Then, one day I was checking the crypto YouTube scene and found a guy talking about Pi. I had to know more.

The Pi Network is a next-gen cryptocurrency that uses Stellar (XLM) technology to allow coin mining from one’s phone or laptop. Back in the day, you needed a Computer Science degree and special hardware to mine Bitcoin. No more.

This is not the ground floor. This is the subfloor. Those who wait for the ICO will be behind where us early adopters are. This is the moment to decide.

Do you eat the red pi or the blue pi. Raspberry or Blueberry. Both are mighty fine pies.

Pi is a coin that has not yet gone public and they are allowing members of their network to use their mobile app to mine enough so that they can take their coin to market. I’m a member. To become a member, you need an invitation.

Here is Your Invitation to Join the Pi Network

Use that link to download the Pi Network App. You’ll also need my username for the invitation code: HobieOne. We can joke about Star Wars when we’re rich people in a yacht race. From that point you’ll do the usual sign-up stuff including two-factor authentication and Facebook. The Pi Network needs to know that you are a human and not a server farm in Ukraine or Belarus or Kalamazoo.

Here’s the plain text version if you’re wary of clicking that link above:

I am sending you 1π! Pi is a new digital currency developed by Stanford PhDs, with over 10 million members worldwide. To claim your Pi, follow this link https://minepi.com/HobieOne and use my username (HobieOne) as your invitation code.

Once you get signed up with the Pi Network you will soon see that you’re generating coins. You may also notice that these coins have no value. That’s because they aren’t in the market yet. However, the second they hit the market they will be worth money. No matter how much they are worth at that point, it’s imperative that you HODL your Pi coins. You could sell and buy yourself an Xbox or party all weekend in Vegas. But then you’ll be done.

What started it all.

Remember that silly grandpa story I told about my first lump of Bitcoin? I hodled it for three years and it tripled. That enabled me to buy more and to diversify a cryptocurrency portfolio. The sums I hold are not large, but they are growing. My accounts would be zero had I sold out.

If you get into the Pi Network and mine coins you’ll have a nest egg that you can grow, diversify or do whatever you want with. Hell, cash it out and buy a jet ski. I don’t care, but know that holding this investment can mean great things for you and your family.

Is the Pi Network a Scam

This was a huge question for me. I needed to know whether the Pi Network is a scam or not. I did a bunch of research and could find nothing that impeached them.

All that they asked that I download their app and sign up using verification that included my phone number and my Facebook account. Hm. Plus they wanted me to build a network. Hm. Sounds like referral marketing to me.

Nonetheless, I took the plunge. I figure if they ask for money, I’ll bail. As it is I’ve already given most of my identity to Facebook and other resources. Even before the internet one’s privacy was an imaginary figment.

Once I loaded the app, I discovered a detailed, rather technical white paper. I also found a list of the principals behind the project. I did a bit of digging and found that they are, in fact, real people with lives and rather large brains.

For instance, Nicolas Kokkalis is the Head of Technology for the Pi Network. He’s a Stanford PhD with entirely too many other degrees. Chendiao Fan is the Head of Product for Pi. She studied Computational Anthropology at Stanford. That’s a pretty esoteric field but it’s something to do with using social computing in ways that make people money, ostensibly. I kid. I studied creative writing! The third part of the team is no longer listed on the app page, but you can read about all three here. Here’s where you can read more about the Pi Network and their team.

Should You Join the Pi Network

In my opinion you definitely should. I am biased, but I have also tried to look out for my own interests in this matter. I figure if I click the app and nothing happens then what have I really lost? If the coin comes to market then my slight effort will see some pay off. I assume it will debut at or under a penny per coin. That’s fine. Pennies become nickels and nickels become dimes.

To me, my effort with the Pi Network is not unlike those early Bitcoin miners. Who knows what the future holds for Pi, but things worked out pretty well for those who came before us, right?

If you’ve read this far, my hat is off to you. Best of luck in whatever journey you undertake.

Live Long and Prosper.

Disclaimer: This ain't no investment advice and I ain't no investment professional. I'm a guy who is throwing money into a new and uncharted sector of the global economy. All risks you take are your own and I wish you the absolute best of luck.

Portland Book Release Party

Ok, so I’m a little late, but last week I formally released my book Silverfish into the world. I believe I posted about it before, but it was held at the Baker Building in North Portland (NoPo.) The space is amazing and recommended if you’re looking for Portland event space.

I was joined by Whiskey Tit’s own Stefan O. Rak, and Alex Behr, both amazing authors.

Anyhow,  here are a few pics from the event.

Hobie Anthony, Alex Behr, and Stefan O Rak prepare to read

Alex Behr reads from Planet Grim – an excellent story collection

Hobie Anthony – me – reading Silverfish

Stefan O Rak reads from his absurd cyberpunk, Adventures of Bastard and M.E.

Published Political Essay!

I’ve been political as long as I can recall. I fomented dissent in the 6^th grade, recited a subversive version of the pledge of allegiance in 8^th, and I went to a Quaker college in no small part due to their long history of promoting social justice. Guilford College has long been proud of its role in the Underground Railroad.

While there, I was keyed into a lot of eye-opening socio-political ideas. I got a student subscription to The Nation and Harpers. When those ran out, I sought new issues in the library.

It’s sorta odd, then, that I didn’t study journalism or political science. There are reasons for that, but what’s important are the actions I take today.

Media and Power

Today, I am happy to announce that I have published a political essay in The Big Smoke. It’s titled “Binary Trending,” and it’s about the intersection of media and power. It takes a look at the individual’s role and how even the best-intended can find their online activities used for purposes they did not foresee – such as the election of the very worst human being to the most powerful office in the nation, if not world.

I hope you’ll read the essay and give it a thought. As citizens we need to be aware of how we use online tools. Our voices are being broadcast, but we don’t necessarily control how they are amplified…

Book Release Party – May 4 / Baker Building/ North Portland

With every great book comes a great book release. Silverfish is no exception. If you’re looking for something to do in Portland on Star Wars Day (May the Fourth) that does not involve mega-billion-dollar movie franchises, pop-culture nerds, or any other mainstream sorts of consumerism, I have the event for you.

Old Portland Literature Party

The event will include yours truly reading from Silverfish. We are also featuring:

Stefan O. Rak – author of Adventures of Bastard and M.E. (Whiskey Tit)
Alex Behr – author of Planet Grim (7.13 Books)
Music by Astro Warrior

This is more than a typical dry reading you might be thinking of. This is a real-deal Portland literature party just like in the old days of 4 years ago. There will be a cash bar, music, fun people. It’s the literary event of the season, people!

Portland Book Release

On May 4, 2018 at 6 PM, Whiskey Tit will help me unleash my tentacle-ridden, alien-infused, debauched novel unto the world. We will do this at the Baker building in NoPo.

That is:

Baker Building
5511 N Albina Ave (map)
Portland, OR
6 PM

I hope to see you there. Everyone in the world is invited.

Writing Life

What does it mean to live a writer’s life? Well, it usually involves a lot of writing. It means other things, too.

Living as a writer means that I see story everywhere. Details pop out of nowhere and demand attention. Themes and tones resonate throughout a bus ride or a trip to a godawful shopping mall.

Being a writer means having a myriad of lenses through which I see the world. It means that there is no single answer or interpretation to a problem or situation. My personal panopticon appears, the multiverse happens here, now.

Writers know that revision is possible. I can take a piece of prose and change it from 1^st person to 3^rd. I can change the narrator. I can zoom in and out of a consciousness. I can omit details for later surprise or delve into the intricacies of the smallest thing. However, the important thing to note is that the best writing, the best writer, does not do this by a force of will.

That is to say, we know that there is no final judgment. There are truths we find and rely on to push things forward, but those truths are not absolute. When we change something in a story, what follows necessarily changes, too. This does not mean that we can change things at random. We make changes thoughtfully, and with an eye to all of the variables in play. Making a change simply to please a self-centered notion is a recipe for failure.

The best writers know that what they write is not theirs. The characters and stories are gifts from some other source. The writer’s job is deliver those to the page. We are mediums, conduits for truths, falsehoods, and all the things that make this nutty world. We own nothing, we are simple tools that ideas and stories find convenient.

Writers have a responsibility to the stories we’re given. The story is not there to aggrandize us. That is a grave error that too many make. This leads to writers not wanting to promote their work because it somehow is all about them. This is a simple ego-trap that harms their gift – the story.

In this world that increasingly relies on text, it seems that everyone thinks they are writers. While I am happy that more people are using text, I fear that they are not using it to its best and highest uses. Writing is a means of exploration. Through writing we can find out what we think, we learn what things are all about. When we only use a few hundred characters, we think that’s all we have to say. That’s often not the case.

I hope this new media sparks an appetite for more reading and writing. I fear it won’t, that people will continue to cheapen their language and degrade themselves for the two-sentence tweet. However, the potential is there.

My Published Book: Silverfish

Ok, it’s been a while since I posted… Since I posted about self-publishing my first novel Silverfish I found a real, live editor and it’s now a book!

It’s been a wild ride going from being accepted by Whiskey Tit to finally receiving a real book. I could go into all the weird circumstances that led to me finding my publisher and the road from that point to the book’s official release, but I won’t. It’s probably more interesting to me.

One thing that happened was that I designed a new cover. The original artwork is from my buddy Jonathan Treadway. He’s a folk artist in Bowling Green, KY and he’s gaining traction there and in Nashville, TN. He’s a poet too, so check him out.

The reviews have been trickling in since the book dropped back in December, but everyone seems to think it’s great. Rumor has it that a Powell’s Books employee declared it the scariest book they’d read.

In fact, Silverfish is in the small press section of Powell’s. It’s featured prominently and it seems like they’ve needed to refill that spot a few times. If you’re in Portland, Oregon, stop by and pick up my book!

If you happen to review avant-garde literature or have a thing for literary science fiction, please order a copy and write about the scary rabbit holes the book sends you down. Please note that you are not in for a typical reading experience. However, it is a gratifying read, and loads of fun. Plus, it features tentacles.

My Ebook: Silverfish

I’m a blogger and commercial writer by day, but at night I like to play with words a bit. Actually, there was once a time when I spent far more time writing on creative projects and far less time earning a living. Somehow I survived with a roof overhead. The important part is that I wrote a book (two, actually.) I titled it Silverfish after the opening story/chapter.

When you read it, you will find a dsytopian world that is being overtaken by aliens. You will find tentacles and hallucinations, heroes and villians. There are unwitting victims and those who sacrifice themselves for a sense of honor. There is sex, too.

I wrote a science fiction/horror novel-in-stories. It’s also rather literary. It’s in a category unto itself, really. Thus, it was all but impossible to get agents interested. The book industry wants products that fit their narrow categories. Fair enough.

With an awesome book on my hands, and nowhere to sell it, I decided to publish it as an ebook and put it on Kindle. I did just that. Here is the cover I designed myself (I’m rather proud of that):

The content is likewise creepy.

Everyone who reads it loves it. Most say it haunts them. I think you’ll love it, too. It’s only 2.99 on Amazon, so please put it on your e-book reader and enjoy. Oh, it’s also on iTunes, Nook, and Kobo, among others.

Do I need a Diversified Portland Writer on my Team?

Writers come in many flavors. Some can only write poetry, others specialize in short stories, still others only are proficient with technical documents. In Portland’s business world, you find writers who only write product descriptions and cannot write a cohesive blog post, where others only write business proposals. Trying to get Portland writers to craft a narrative across the span of a website is often a bafflement for them.

• Writer for All Seasons
• Cover all Your Bases
• Attract and Keep New Clients

Working with a specialized writer is fantastic when your team only needs one sort of documentation. However, agencies may need a writer who can wear many different hats. They need someone who can write a press release for the next hot app and then turn around and write lyrical copy for the town’s newest restaurant.

Diversity is vital in nature and business.

One of my strengths as a writer is the ability to write in many different genres. My creative resume includes essays, poetry, scripts, and fiction. I have never found any trouble switching between genres or subject matter. I can write about payment processing one minute and then switch to home construction. I enjoy that sort of variety and I’m damn good at it.

This quality is unusual in writers. So many find their one niche and stick to it forever. When asked to cover a new subject or to write in a new format, they balk. Personally, I feel they are selling themselves short, but that’s not for me to say.

You need a writer as diversified as I am so that you don’t have to worry about hiring a new writer when you sign a new client. If they are concerned, you can tell them with assurance that I have covered topics in their industry with aplomb. This way you never need to start a search for a new writer to cover that one client.

Contact me today. I am your diversified Portland writer and I’d love to be your go-to solution for content creation.