Nobody Asked Me, But...
In which we reflect on the maxim, "Mobility Is Survival," and consider the totalitarian implications of the blockchain
Mobility Is Survival
My kid forgot his track shoes. When I pulled into the parking lot of the high school to drop them off, it was only 10:30 a.m., but kids were milling around outside the entrance. Some were hopping into cars.
I walked into the building. The guard brusquely asked me what I was doing, which wasn’t unusual; they’re always careful. Doing as he asked, I left the shoes on the bench beside the door and left.
“My dad said I have to leave, but I don’t have a ride,” one boy was saying to his friends.
Back in the car, I checked my email. Yep, the superintendent had just sent a message saying that a “disturbing” message had been found in the girls’ restroom and that police had been called. The email said no threat was imminent and a lockdown hadn’t been declared.
Lockdown or not, more and more kids were leaving. I called my son. Surprisingly, he picked up the phone.
“Do you want to leave?” I asked. “I’m in the parking lot.”
He did.
He had no more information than I did, but he was messaging his friends. As soon as we arrived at home, he asked if we return to pick up a stranded acquaintance. Contemplating the risk of being gunned down in the school driveway, I agreed.
We found Aubrey’s friend without being barraged by bullets.
“I don’t take it too seriously,” the kid said, “because it was in the girl’s restroom.”
This was the second incident that involved police response to a “disturbing” message at the high school. I’m tired of the euphemism.
After reading accounts of daring escapes from totalitarian regimes, “Mobility is survival” is my motto. Few of us like to be always on the move, but everything has its time. If you followed the guidance of the World Trade Center security officials who told you to stay in your office, you died.
That evening, the superintendent sent out another email urging parents not to spread rumors about guns. Well. It doesn’t take a lot of imagination to envision a gun in a situation where the police are called and lockdowns are mentioned. Unless I can make an informed decision, I’ll be as quick as other parents to assume the worst.
Is Bitcoin Like a Pencil?
Bitcoin euphoria has given way to a highly complex, rapidly changing decentralized finance game. The risk-takers who bought Bitcoin early are enjoying their gains. To achieve good returns, latecomers must stake their coins in decentralized finance platforms that are evolving so rapidly as to bring almost certain death to amateurs, a swift Darwinian death.
The involvement of governments in digital currencies negates the founders’ values. How better to monitor and control the citizenry than to digitize payment and credit, as China is now in the process of doing?
The inventor of Ethereum has said he dislikes speculation in his coin. He wants Ethereum to be a practical medium for deals. I’ll take that as a warning.
Online trading is so easy, but buyer beware.