Ready Player One is part of hodler film history, discussed repeatedly on stonks subs over the past three years. Gettin' hyped tonight for next week, watching for maybe the 10th time, and... BAM. Never saw this graffiti in this way before, now can't believe I've missed lo these many years.

At the end of the previous scene, Samantha and Wade meet IRL for the first time. and Samantha says "Welcome to the rebellion, Wade." Nice. Let's git some!

So, I've just read the HR and Senate versions of these bills, and I agree- they are too broadly-worded for the stated intent (foreign adversary data limitation)- especially the Senate bill. After writing my US Senators tonight (the House Rep still to go), I recalled that last year, RC told us "TikTok." Do you have an idea why? Speculation or DD, all is fair here, in the usual Ape spirit of open inquiry. Whaddya got?

Somewhere on RDDT someone thought the first O looked like a moon. I'm thinking it's a more like an eclipse, as in... April '24. I'll speculate that something will be -ahem- revealed at that time :-)

OK gang, RC provides the clues, therefore we gotta dig, and in this case I can use some additional sparkplugs (that's you!). Dr Jacques is in the books, he's grabbing his lapel nametag, conveniently located adjacent to his pectoral region, we all thought "ha ha, that's Jake!" and moved along. But Jacques Tits turns out to be quite interesting. He's a doctor of advanced mathematics, from Belgium, spent his life in France, lots of crazy advanced math in his wikipedia page- even has various theories and constructions named for him. Died recently, on 5 December 2021. So- following links (below), we go to Group Theory, down to Public-Key Cryptography (interesting..) and scroll down to see "Examples of protocols using asymmetric key algorithms include: Bitcoin."

Maybe this nothing burger deserves further study? Anyone care to help dig while we wait for some news??

Dave.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jacques_Tits -> https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Group_theory -> https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Public-key_cryptography -> "Examples of protocols using asymmetric key algorithms include: Bitcoin"

There's some dk-butterfly-related excitement and speculative hype around next week which will likely be a nothing-burger, but this is the promise of GME-affecting news (for better or worse), considering Microsoft's initiative to no longer sell physical game "tokens" (that's all the discs are these days).

This reminds me of RC's tweet/reply on July 17th 2023 to Satya Nadella, CEO of Microsoft, saying "Satya, GameStop is a large Microsoft customer. I've been trying to reach you and being ignored."

We can only hope this is good news. Perhaps the broader Xbox community's massive negative feedback regarding this revelation has forced Microsoft to either A) reverse the decision and promise continued physical game discs/tokens, or B) reveal their future plans for cryptographic game authorization tokens, IE NFTs, which might provide answers (or somehow tie into) regarding GME's cancelled NFT marketplace & Playr.

Here's my longtime fave BBBY end-game hypothesis, one with a fair amount of humiliation for the fraudsters and SHFs:

• After all the legal effort, BBBaby is carved out or spun off;

• Former BBBY shareholders are given shares in the new BBBaby (holding) company, as a bonus for going through hell the past 6 months;

• Former BBBY shareholders also receive $ from any legal settlements related to BBBY fraud investigations;

• BBBY shareholders retain shares in the old company as well;

• CUSIP and/or Ticker is maintained, so shorts are forced by the court to close, buying up shares in an empty shell company in order to close billions of short positions, closely watched by the SEC. BBBY price skyrockets; shareholders sell shares in the old entity at their leisure, then the price seems satisfactory.

New company and GS are well clear of the media noise and lamentations of the SHFs.

This theory has the poetic justice that I see in other elements of this play (GameSTOP, Bed Bath & BEYOND, etc). This sequence would really underline the BEYOND in Bed Bath and Beyond, and meet RC's primary goal of delighting customers (in this case, diamond-handed shareholders).

Whaddya think? Could it happen? Why or why not?

...as we all certainly know by now. So watch out! There's a whole crapton of divisive political shit showing up on Reddit subs this week, right at the very moment when major change is looming. How convenient and predictable. Stay Zen, remember your training apes! Focus on the play, get some sunshine, and don't get caught up in nefarious side-quest psiops drama, rolled out precisely when the community is all keyed up. They've had plenty of time to plan and prepare this kind of crap. Ape no fight Ape! Monke peace out.

So, I started thinking- if a keiretsu usually organizes around a bank, whom among our most-favorite brands might already be rockin' an RSSD #, and thereby be sitting in prime position to get this party started? RSSD numbers are unique identifiers assigned to financial institutions by the Federal Reserve. I looked these up a couple weeks ago. Let the list begin!

Currently HAS an RSSD: AMC / Bed Bath & Beyond / Koss-Winn Bancshares / Macy's / Macy's State Street / Newell Associates / Nordstrom / Ovid Branch / Pulte Group / Revlon Inc / Revlon Financial Group / Sears / Sears & Roebuck / Toys 'R' Us

Did NOT HAVE an RSSD: 09302023 / 20230930 / Butterfly / DK-Butterfly / Beyond / Blockbuster / Buy Buy Baby / Chewy / DOM / Dream On Me / Gamestop / Gmerica / Icahn Enterprises /Lego / Nintendo / Overstock / Party City / Rite-Aid / Super League Enterprise / Teddy

Check any company at: https://www.ffiec.gov/NPW The FFIEC is at: https://www.ffiec.gov/

Whaddy'all think?

Have a listen. Sal links all the dots. I’m boring, but this shit is fuckin spicy.

Edwin twitter thread via Nitter. I know it's quiet here, I think this is worthy of caching away from reddit.

Am I nuts? Teddy's backpack just looks like a huge Overstock logo O to me. I have no DD about their involvement or lack of involvement in the butterfly/keiretsu/cluster being aggregated, but... I can't NOT see it now. You?

Sources:

https://www.womeninretail.com/podcast/c-suite-retail-leader-patty-wu-on-identifying-and-following-your-career-north-star/

Dave Chappelle Skit: https://youtu.be/pfz0tDQZhqs?si=i-l9RXDsmB1h8qd6

Has Judge Michael Kaplan seen enough? Are we on the right side of a very gymnastic legal exercise? Or might things be about to get better? Let's hear your thoughts.

"The Bankruptcy Court for the District of New Jersey establishes a Chapter 11 Local Rules Committee (“Committee”) to review and recommend changes to the existing Procedures and Rules for Chapter 11 Bankruptcy Cases."

https://www.njb.uscourts.gov/sites/default/files/hearingdates/doc1/Notice%20to%20the%20Bar%20and%20Public%20Concerning%20General%20Order%20Regarding%20Chapter%2011%20Case%20Administration%201-3-2024.pdf

Tonight on PP, BlockFi was raised as a possible entity of interest/sidequest in our little saga. Cohencidentally, they are currently undergoing yet another Chapter 11 bankruptcy/reorg. Interesting! Anyone recall Bill Pulte saying "I think there may be a bunch of bankruptcies"? GME and BlockFi both were significantly injured by FTX; maybe the good guys saw a chance to pick up some useful crypto tech for the Keiretsu?

Links: https://www.njb.uscourts.gov/BlockFi https://restructuring.ra.kroll.com/blockfi/Home-Index

So recently, Matt Finestone has been interacting with our larger community, and his twitter handle has always intrigued me (3body.eth). So that was fresh in my mind when, shopping at a bookstore, I spotted "The Three Body Problem" by... Liu Cixin, who also has been discussed. Of course, I tore into the sci-fi book immediately, and was so struck by a few passages that I thought Matt may have been pointing us at it all along. Now, there's been a long list of films discussed in various forums, but I can't recall seeing any mentions of this book. The plot generally involves a struggle against mysterious threatening forces, and salvation can only be found by playing a hyper-realistic VR video game.

This gem appears on page 134: "In my line of work, it's all about putting together many apparently-unconnected things. When you piece them together the right way, you get the truth." Doesn't that sound like a guide to tinfoil? Then, on page 137: "I can guarantee you that the enemy is incredibly powerful. Those in charge are terrified... if killing you would solve the problem, you'd all be dead by now. But the most effective technique remains disrupting your thoughts." Like COINTELPRO, maybe? Interestingly, considering recent developments involving Kanye, the Ye family features prominently in the book (many of the events take place in China).

With the number 134 still on my mind, I searched through "The Big Short" and found that, at 1:33:00, Dr. Burry is writing to his investors about being in a fraudulent market. And right at 1:34:00, the 2007 housing market begins to fail. By 1:36:00, Morgan Stanley is asking to buy Front Point's credit default swaps.

So far, interesting tinfoil, no? Then I found that, exactly at 1:34:30 into "Fight Club", comes this threatening message to a nearly-emasculated power broker: "Look- the people you are after are the people you rely on. We cook your meals. We haul your trash. We connect your calls. We drive your ambulances. We guard you while you sleep. Do not fuck with us."

I'm really feeling that last quote as we head into 2024; how about you?

(Lurker since 2020, hodler since Feb 2021)

Real talk: final payments mean the bankruptcy ending HAS to be soon...

...right? (seriously I'm asking)

Sideshows

The number keeps growing on TDA.

https://x.com/SkullandBonesz/status/1735707788972810264?s=20

https://youtu.be/9GCGn_STx-o?t=7932 The following is a transcript lightly edited for improved readability.

Bill Pulte:

Larry, maybe you could just say hi to everyone, and then, you know, you were the first money in Chewy, which I think is now, what, a 12 or 20 billion dollar company?

Maybe you could just walk us through how you worked with Ryan Cohen, what you saw in him that did it, and then we'll get in to your multi billion dollar fund after that.

Larry Cheng:

Sure, yea, I was the first investor to meet with Ryan in person, I think that was back in 2012, I ultimately invested in the company on behalf of Volition in 2013. We invested 15 million dollars in Chewy series A as the first institutional investor in the company.

Pulte:

Let's go! Can I ask how much that 15 million turned in to? Is that public, or no?

Larry Cheng:

It's not, but, hundreds of millions I would say.

Pulte:

Everybody is cheering for you.

Larry Cheng:

Alright! I remember the first meeting with Ryan, and my first impression of him was, he said he would spend every night reading the reviews on the site, of Chewy, and if there were any issues with anyone who was unhappy, he would personally go take the lead and try to and figure out to resolve issues, and right then and there I knew he was, as customer centric, as focused on customer delight, as anyone from a first impression perspective, but that only grew over the years that I've gotten to know him. So yea, we invested in the company, it was a huge success obviously, and Ryan is a generational entrepreneur.

Pulte:

And, how old are you Larry, cause I didn't look it up but you look young as hell.

Larry Cheng:

48

Pulte:

48, wow, you look good at 48. So, 48, and you got, how big is your fund now, a couple billion?

Larry Cheng:

About a couple billion in assets under management, just shy of that, yea.

Pulte:

And, what are you investing in, and, you've got a lot of fans here, I don't know, 20, 30 thousand followers on Twitter, something like that?

Larry Cheng:

Yea, we invest, Volition is a growth equity firm, so we invest in emerging growth tech companies, so these are companies with 5, 15 million in revenue, in that zone, growing 50 to 100 percent plus. So, really dynamic emerging tech companies. We have two sides of the house, software and services is one, and internet and consumer is the other. I lead the internet and consumer team, so that's all things e-commerce, digital media, ad tech, transactional services, consumer, retail, all that good stuff, all fun stuff.

Pulte:

Love it. Okay, so, is there anything you want to tell this crowd?

Larry Cheng:

I think this is truly inspirational that you guys are all together. You guys are really defining what it means for retail investors to be in community, and what comes from that. And so, you know, when I think about what, where this is headed and where communities are going, from impacting the financial markets, it's wherever you guys in this room want to go. Because you guys are on the forefront, and you're leading it, and so kudos to you guys, because, I think that the power of individual investors in community will only grow over time. And, there are days in the future, where rooms like what you have, will be more important and more influential than Goldman Sachs.

Pulte:

Wow. Did you hear that? Wow. That's amazing. Larry, really appreciate the sentiment. And Larry, we've got, I'll have to send it to you later, but we've got an airport hanger full of people, this room cost way too much to rent, the stereos cost way too much, I'm gonna end up having to write probably a 40 thousand dollar check, which I'm happy to write, you know, 40 thousand dollars for this party, it's basically a party right, is this not a party?

But, anyway, we got basically, you know, we raised money for this. People donated 500 dollars. That's a lot of money. 500 dollars is a lot of money. People donated 500 dollars to come here to be in this room. We have 250 people, everybody paid to be here, and I really appreciate you saying that this is the future of investing, because, Larry, you know, I invest for a living, these folks now invest for a living. I also believe that this is the future too, of investing, and I believe that, you know, having somebody who is director of a 5 billion dollar company like you are, managing 2 billion dollars, thinking this is going to be, in your words, more powerful than Goldman Sachs? Did you guys hear what he just said? He just said that groups like this are the future and are going to be more powerful than Goldman Sachs. I mean, that's, I have the utmost respect for them, as I'm sure he does, but that is a huge statement.

So Larry, let's just finish up here, and I know, we're going to behave ourselves, because we know you're a sitting director of a public company.

So, we want to respect that.

But, can you maybe tell us your favorite thing, you work with Ryan Cohen very directly. You were his money in Chewy.

What's your favorite thing about Ryan Cohen? Let's start there.

Larry Cheng:

Ryan is as contrarian as they come. So he's an independent thinker. He is not afraid to buck the trend, as you all know. And, he is such an original contrarian thinker. So it's inspiring to be around that. So, he's one of a kind in that respect. So that's probably my favorite thing.

Pulte:

Love it. And, again, I'm keeping it very generic, but you feel free to tell me what or what not you'll answer, these are like softball questions.

I think everybody in this room loves what I'm about to ask, which is, what is he like, inter-personally working with him?

So, everybody has all these different conspiracies, they have all these different things, people are trying to do stories on him -- you're actually somebody who is credible who works with him day to day, week to week, month to month.

What is he like when you're dealing with him inter-personally, what is he like to work with?

Larry Cheng:

It's kind of funny, when some of the articles would come out with pictures of him in kind of this foreboding, suit in a dark room, I would text him and say, that picture looks ridiculous.

And I would say, Ryan is actually quite humble and open handed as a person, and so, he listens, but he's very directed in what he wants to do.

Pulte:

Is he funny? Is he funny?

Larry Cheng:

He's a funny guy. He's actually rather understated. He's funny but understated. Very humble. And, don't imagine a foreboding, huge, ominous figure. That's not Ryan Cohen. He's very customer-centric, and just a very independent thinker, as I mentioned before.

That's how I would describe him.

Pulte:

Love it. What other questions about Ryan Cohen do we have? We have to keep it very generic.

Kais:

Did you have the chance to meet Ted Cohen?

Larry Cheng:

I did not.

Kais:

I'm sure you heard Ryan talking about his father. Can you tell us, some things you heard from him about his father?

Larry Cheng:

I think it's best for Ryan to talk about his father. All I will say is that, his father is an inspiration to him.

Pulte:

Very good. Thank you Larry.

Have you heard of the PP show before tonight, or no Larry?

Larry Cheng:

I have.

PP:

Oh really? What do you think about the PP show, Larry?

Larry Cheng:

Honestly, I didn't know much, but, I think I saw, Bill you went on it once.

Pulte:

Yes I did. Yes I did.

Larry Cheng:

That's where it came across my radar.

PP:

I just have a question pertaining to Ryan Cohen. Based off, you know, you know Ryan Cohen's humor, and things like that. In your opinion, and again, you can't speak on behalf of Ryan Cohen,

Do you think he likes the PP show, where we slap people with dildos, things like that?

Larry Cheng:

I've never specifically asked him about that, so I can't answer.

Pulte:

Well thank you for being such a good sport. We really appreciate you Larry. Thank you for coming.

You have a special announcement that you want to make for everybody here, you have kind of a surprise gift.

Larry Cheng:

Yes, thank you. Actually, Bill, you were kind of my inspiration for this, not gonna lie. I saw, you were doing a lot of great things for the community, and so some of you who follow me will know that we've done some giveaways, during the holiday season with some of my companies. We are doing one today, with Grove Collaborative, which is a sustainable household essentials retail store, e-commerce store.

What I thought I'd do, since I was coming on today, is I would like to give all of the attendees of today's event a 100 dollar gift card to Grove.

Hopefully you can go and have some holiday fun there. We'll find a way to get your email so that we can email you those gift cards, but just my way of saying happy holidays to the whole community.

Pulte:

Very good. Everybody is clapping for you in the room, so thank you very much. If you guys didn't hear in the back of the room, Larry is gonna give everybody a hundred dollars, which is amazing, that's like, you know, 25 grand. So, you know, if you paid 500 tonight, you're getting at least 100 back. And, Kais is going to give for people he wants to give the people another hundred.

Kais:

Everybody.

Pulte:

Everybody, wow. And that's worth a hundred dollars right there.

So, Larry, I can't thank you enough for coming on. Hopefully -- I think we kept it like ultra PG. I don't even know if you can keep it more PG than that. But we appreciate it, we hope to have you on again. And, we'd love to do it in person some time. But, thanks again for everything, and being here.

Everybody's chanting Larry.

Larry Cheng:

Thanks so much, good to see you guys.

Title says it all.

Have a great day, price setters. Everything's looking up!

But according to posts in it, Lemmy is too hard to use.

-Scratches head

Maybe that's a good thing?

I’ve seen Ferdinand now. His journey resonates deeply with me personally, I feel like I've lived through it myself. My exegesis skills are rusty, so this will probably devolve into alternations between story and plot. I'd like to at least post the core of his story (and quotes that moved me) to share here with anyone else who might be touched by it. Spoilers obviously abound:

Ferdinand, a young bull, plays peacefully on a farm with Nina, the farmer’s young child. Though he is meant to grow into a prized fighting bull, Ferdinand doesn’t want this. He loves flowers and longs only to appreciate their fragrance.

Over time, Ferdinand watches as the strongest adult bulls including his father are chosen and taken from the farm to the Ranch, a training ground to be readied for the Arena, where they will face Bullfighters in feats of glory. Ferdinand grows to be a large, physically magnificent Bull, but he still has no desire to fight anyone.

Nina goes to Market with her father and warns Ferdinand not to come, but Ferdinand is torn between wishing to go and wishing to do as he is told. He decides to go. Sure enough, the danger shows itself when Ferdinand accidentally causes a commotion and unintended damage all over the market. Ferdinand the Bull attempts to break nothing in the china shop, and he manages to save a baby during the chaos, but he can’t stop the market sellers from stampeding away from him left and right.

Nina tells everyone that Ferdinand is gentle, but the authorities say he is violent, and that they need to take him away. Thus Ferdinand is forcefully taken to the Ranch. There, Ferdinand meets the other bulls from his youth, and it so happens that his growth has dwarfed theirs by far. At first, the other bulls distrust Ferdinand, but over time they come to appreciate his genuineness and good intentions.

All the bulls are nervous when "El Primero," the greatest ever Bullfighter, comes to the Ranch. He wants to fight the strongest bull there; it will be the final fight of his career. One bull against the best bull-fighter, “THE BEST AGAINST THE BEST!"

While training, one of the bulls is taken away to the Chop House when he cannot perform to his highest potential. Ferdinand despairs. He thinks that bull was manipulated, confused, and that he doesn’t deserve to be sent to the Chop House. In response Ferdinand is called a Flower Bull, too peaceful for his nature, and is lectured that every bull is either a Fighter or Meat. Ferdinand is said to be Meat. If Ferdinand wants not to be Chopped too, then he must act like the fighting bull he was born to be.

Ferdinand resists this notion, assisting another bull to be able to see better and thus perform better, even though that bull is his competition. The fellow bull asks, “You’ve given me a fighting chance, Ferdinand. Why would you do such a thing?” Ferdinand explains, “If we don’t look out for each other, who will?”

Ferdinand tells the other bulls that they should all run away from the Ranch together so that they don’t wind up being shipped to the Chop House. The Roughest other bull scoffs, “You think you’re different, but you’re not.” Another says, “It’s a bull-fight-bull world.” Ferdinand retorts, “It doesn’t HAVE to be that way. I’ll take you to my home. It’s different there!”

Since the others disbelieve him, Ferdinand goes off to escape on his own. He sneaks through the Rancher’s villa, and sees a multitude of horns hung across the walls, trophies from all the conquered bulls that passed through the Ranch before. “My dad,” Ferdinand realizes, “He was the bravest bull I knew. He really believed he could beat the Matador! All of them did… the bull never wins…” Ferdinand turns back, warning the other bulls that “You’ll get to fight in a big fancy arena… but I’m telling you it’s just another Chop House!”

The Rough bull gets angry, thinking that the Arena is the only destination for true bulls, and that they must fight, and that Ferdinand is a coward. He attacks Ferdinand, and in the scuffle Ferdinand accidently severs one of the Rough bull’s horns. El Primero has been watching from afar, and points down at Ferdinand from high upon a balcony. “That one is the best bull. I’ll fight him tomorrow.” The Rough bull is sent overnight to the Chop House.

Ferdinand decides not to escape the Ranch. “I’m not leaving… not unless EVERYONE is coming with me…” The other bulls join him in attempting a rescue of the Rough bull, but he doesn’t want to be rescued. He believes he deserves to be Meat. “It doesn’t have to be that way,” Ferdinand exclaims. “You’re more than just a set of horns. Come with us! You can live your own life now, but not if you give up.” The Rough bull resists, and Ferdinand leaves.

The other bull earlier sent to the Chop House is spotted, he hasn’t been Chopped just yet. He hangs from a harness headed for meat grinders. Ferdinand tries to free him but fails. At the very last moment the Rough bull charges in to succeed instead! The three bulls work together and break out of the Chop House, then join the other bulls and flee the Ranch as the rancher gives fervent chase, first in vehicles, then by footrace.

Ferdinand pushes all the other bulls onto a speeding train, then turns to stop those who seek their capture. He is caught himself. Imprisoned, he is driven to the Bullfighting Arena to face off against El Primero, the greatest Bull-Fighter. There, one of his friends tries to encourage him. “Ferdinand, listen, ok? You are the bravest bull I know. You can do this, but you’re gonna have to fight… just this one time…”

The destined day of the Bullfight has come. Ferdinand still wishes desperately not to fight. As he is forced into the arena, the bullfighter’s assistants surround and prod Ferdinand forward, provoking him to charge the Bullfighter. At first, Ferdinand is indeed manipulated by the Bullfighter’s skills, but then in a tumult of movements, he winds up flipping and carrying the Bullfighter on his back. In a frenzy of struggle, Ferdinand ultimately tosses the Bullfighter out of the ring. Enraged, the Bullfighter returns with deadly weapons to put a sharp end to Ferdinand’s circumvention of tradition: the Bullfighter always wins.

In a startling reversal, Ferdinand dances about, dodging the Bullfighter with his own cape impaled upon his horns. The crowd cheers for Ferdinand. Suddenly the Bullfighter’s weapon grazes Ferdinand’s flank, and he roars, lifting the Bullfighter up by his coat. The Bullfighter hangs helplessly from Ferdinand’s horns as the Bull huffs into his face, enraged.

Before Ferdinand goes too far, he notices a rose that the Bullfighter had earlier tossed aside, and remembers that he has no desire to commit murder, nor even fight at all. He sees the abject terror in the Bullfighter’s eyes, and lowers him safely to the ground. The Bullfighter, confused, retrieves his cape and backs away.

Ferdinand sniffs the discarded rose, recalling vividly the serene landscape where he was lovingly raised in peace by Nina. He returns to his senses as he hears the Bullfighter approach him again warily with a sword. Ferdinand stands his ground, unwilling to fight but also unwilling to retreat. The moment hangs…

Ferdinand plants himself and sits down, looking with determination into the Bullfighter’s eyes. Nina arrives at the arena, rushing to the edge of the ring. The Bullfighter lunges, his blade aimed at Ferdinand’s heart…

A spectator in the crowd shouts, “Let him live!” Another joins in, “Spare the Bull!” “Let him go!” The crowd stands as one. Eventually respecting the crowd’s cries, the Bullfighter nods gruffly to Ferdinand, turns, and leaves.

Nina runs forward to embrace Ferdinand. “I thought I’d never see you again!” she cries. The other bulls charge fiercely into the arena, but are relieved to find the fight is over, and Ferdinand is safe. “Flower Bull did it…” says the Rough bull. The crowd roars with elation.

Ferdinand and the other bulls are transported back to the farm where Ferdinand spent his youth, raised by the farmer alongside Nina. Ferdinand bounds across a warm meadow of wildflowers and Butterflies, to stand beside the tree he missed so very much from his childhood. There, atop a hill overlooking valleys and forest, Ferdinand and all the other bulls sit together, basking in the sunset.

https://twitter.com/No_Pie_2109/status/1733453198143234258?t=uZMpFy6UHQNmTMQE1AUMnQ&s=19

https://youtu.be/zKsZDZVL3OA?t=2374

Byron from Loopring attended the PP show and discussed Loopring.

TLDW:

Loopring is re-architecting the global financial infrastructure with some friends.

1. Real fine$ for FTDs [NO "margin call" waivers at NSCC's whim]
2. Mandatory Buy-In
3. If Buy-In fails, raise offer$ until it closes
4. Suspend & close accounts of brokers who FTD
5. Create criminal law for BDs who harm #HouseholdInvestors
6. Give power back to states @NASAA

On October 11, 2023, Brenden Dearie, CEO and founder of Protocol: Gemini, gives an interview on the PP show.

The Protocol:Gemini blackpaper (2023) mentions that we're currently in phase 2 of the roadmap.

Q4 2023: Live events, intensive marketing and team expansion

Protocol: Gemini - BLACKPAPER 2.0 (March 2023)

protocolgemini.com

Protocol: Gemini is a web3 project building apps and products for the web3 future. P:G aims to build a web3-based interactive 3-D world accessible from your mobile device.

It's worth reading the blackpaper to get a good understanding of the entire idea.

Think about, for example, how Google Maps has location information, and people can leave reviews at restaurants and things like that.

P:G aims to build a web3 based decentralized version of that kind of thing, and much more. Users will earn rewards, in the form of GEMz, an ERC-20 token, for providing information and engaging in the network. A play-to-earn kind of model.

A better comparison to explain what P:G aims to do might be to consider Pokemon Go, which is actually made by a competing company. Pokemon Go uses location information to sort of marry digital information to physical locations.

P:G aims to build the information infrastructure to allow users to populate the network with information about their physical reality around them.

When the infrastructure and apps are in place and ready to use, all kinds of fun and interesting things might be possible. "This network of 3D data points will have community access for any user to build their own quests, structures, buildings, and eventually NPCs. Kinda like a video game that you can see on top of the real world!"

Protocol: Gemini is partnered with Loopring, as well as Cyber Crew, and others.

Protocol: Gemini sells Metagates on GameStop NFT marketplace.

This is really good and gives some major insight into the lax attitude around our financial institutions.

Please be advised that on November 28, 2023, the court entered the following judgment or order on the court's docket in the above−captioned case: Document Number: 2724 − 2710 Order Granting Application To Allow Attorney Kenneth A. Listwak as Counsel for Ollie's Bargain Outlet, Inc. to Appear Pro Hac Vice (Related Doc # 2710). Service of notice of the entry of this order pursuant to Rule 9022 was made on the appropriate parties. See BNC Certificate of Notice. This order has been mailed to the Treasurer of the New Jersey Lawyer's Fund for Client Protection via US mail. Signed on 11/28/2023. (rah) Parties may review the order by accessing it through PACER or the court's electronic case filing system (CM/ECF). Public terminals for viewing are also available at the courthouse in each vicinage.

stay strong PPs

TLDR at the bottom

Hello everyone,

i'd like to discuss something that was brought up last night on the pp show.

November 29, pp said:

"I do have a small little announcement here. The pp show as many know the subreddit was nuked. off reddit, which was very sad. you know, we don't have really, i know X is a good replacement in the meantime, so, but we need a forum, right fellas? so, one of the pps out there actually reached out to me, and i actually did a video conference with them, he's a super nice guy, and it turns out he's gonna be building a PP show mobile app man! so right on! so pretty soon we're gonna have our own platform, not X, not Reddit, it's going to be a PP god damn platform, fellas. Full app and everything, so soon enough, we'll be able to move our DD there when things explode man there's always gonna be more stocks to talk about, so things will never get nuked again. It's not even Lemmy man, it's gonna be an app! so a full on PP app, fellas. right on, I'm super excited, and yea i'll be paying to host it for everybody and all that, so right the fuck on fellas"

Obviously, pp can do whatever he wants for his show. If pp wants to have a mobile app, that is terrific. I will be cheering on the development of the app and I hope it succeeds and helps the show and helps the community.

However, if the objective of creating the mobile app is to have a "forum", allow me to use this Lemmy post in this existing Lemmy forum community, to explain why it will be challenging to have "a mobile app" as a forum.

1. A mobile app will exclude non-mobile access.

So one person is going to develop a mobile app? So it will only be usable on mobile devices, not laptops or desktop computers.

2. It must either be 2 apps (1 for Android and 1 for iOS), or half of all mobile users will be excluded

Which mobile os, Android or iOS? So one developer is going to either create and then maintain 2 full distinct apps, one for Android, one for iOS, or, this developer will create just 1 app for one of these operating systems, and the other half of all mobile users will be excluded along with PC and laptop users.

3. Because of the network effect, getting users to join a new competing social networking app is hard.

Putting the other stuff aside, let's assume that it is somehow an app that is usable by Android users, iOS users, as well as PC users, no problem. Like the way that a web-based app like Lemmy works.

Because of the network effect, it will be a struggle to onboard many users. It's largely for this reason why there are currently not so many users here on Lemmy. It's sort of a chicken and egg problem.

Think of that scene in The Office, S3E2: The Convention, where Michael is trying to get a party started in the hotel in Room 308, Party Central. Michael tries to recruit people to join his party. A few individuals go to Room 308 only to find that it's just Michael there alone and a bunch of bottles of liquor, and so they don't stick around because there's no actual party. There's no party because there are no people, and there are no people because there is no party.

Social media is kind of like this. People tend to want to be where the action is, and up to this point that has historically meant places like Reddit and X / Twitter.

Twitter and Reddit and YouTube are enormous centralized networks. E.g. Reddit and Twitter both have around 500 million monthly active users.

The fediverse, in comparison, has roughly a mere 2 million monthly active users.

Because of sheer size of reddit's network, it made it relatively easy for ~ 20,000 users to gather in the same subcommunity.

But, oh no, Reddit is a centralized platform that reserves the power to get rid of anyone they don't like from their platform that belongs to them, and they got rid of that subreddit that we all used to enjoy. that location for ~ 20 thousand users no longer exists, and we now find ourselves in the situation we're in.

So some people went to X. how many people joined the pp show community on X? around 5 thousand, not close to the nearly 20 thousand of the subreddit, and that's with many users already on X. To get to 20k will take time and effort. Also, as pp mentioned, in the long run X isn't really a proper forum is it?

Some people went to Lemmy. how many? a few hundred.

say in a few months, PP releases a premium mobile app. how many people will join? how much of a community will exist there? How long would it take to get to 20,000 subscribers?

It won't be easy to get a fresh party started on a new app.

4. The federated model is superior to a standalone model

It seems implied that this app that will be developed will be its own standalone social network app of some kind, and not federated or otherwise connected to any existing network.

the folks behind the website DRSGME.org went through a similar ordeal as the pp show community is currently going through, when reddit banned r/DRSyourGME.

That group ultimately decided to start their own Lemmy instance and I've been using it ever since. I wrote a post just yesterday on why, in my opinion, Lemmy and the fediverse is cool.

TLDR of that post: The federated model connects you to a larger network while still giving you full authority over your own instance, should you choose to run one.

If you have a standalone app / social network, you will be in a much smaller bubble, not connected to any larger network at all, which will make it that much more challenging to grow the community.

So, what are the options going forward?

1. use existing centralized social media platforms, like Reddit, X, and YouTube.

• Pros: largest networks, largest benefit from the network effect, therefore largest reach. apps are very functional and polished, high production value.
• Cons: Centralized authorities reserve the ability to deplatform you at any moment. There is no reason to assume that YouTube is perpetually safe. Our opponents who aimed at getting the subreddit shut down are also aiming to get the YouTube channel shut down. Don't say it can't happen.

2. Use a new bespoke app, developed specifically for the purposes of this community.

• Pros: pp retains full control over the app, the app can be designed or customized in any particular way to suit the requirements. Can have a theme of dildo upvotes / downvotes and whatever else you want.
• Cons: among what is discussed throughout this post, it will take time to develop an app, and it will take ongoing effort to maintain it. If it's 2 apps, 1 for both Android and iOS, then there are 2 codebases and the work is doubled. It's a lot of responsibility and expectations for 1 single developer. Deplatforming can still happen because Google and Apple retain the ability to get rid of any apps that they don't want in their app stores. Using 1 centralized bespoke app also necessarily implies 1 single point of failure.

3. Use the fediverse and federated apps

• Pros: the fediverse is an existing social network of about 2 million monthly active users that anyone can plug in to. It currently exists and is ready to be used. Right here, right now. Anyone using any fediverse app is technically able to connect and interact with anyone in just about any other fediverse app. Lemmy can be accessed from a web browser on any device: PC, Android, iOS. There are also third party apps specifically for Android and iOS that can be used. The fediverse enables you to connect to an already existing social network while allowing you to retain full administrative authority over your instance and community. Effectively, you cannot be deplatformed, if you are your own platform host. (btw a federated YouTube alternative exists called PeerTube)

• Cons: Lemmy or other fediverse apps may not be perceived as being as "cool" as other options. It does require some amount of time and effort to host your own Lemmy or other fediverse instance. You can choose to not host your own instance, such as this community here we are currently in, but then you are at the mercy of the admins of whatever instance you are in. If those admins happen to decide one day that they don't like you, they could remove you from their instance. Although these apps are open source, they currently don't necessarily allow for the level of customization that might be desired. as of now, I don't think it is possible to implement dildo upvotes and downvotes. But, over time such ability could be integrated into the open source software.

@Ppseeds, I hope you read this post and consider what I have written here with an open mind.

The purpose of this post is not to try and discourage the idea of having a bespoke app created for this community. In stead I simply want to address the reality of what options exist, and why some options might be preferable over others. I am obviously biased and believe that the fediverse is the best long term option, but maybe it turns out that I've got it all wrong.

I personally will continue to use Reddit, and X, and YouTube, and various Discord channels, and Lemmy.

TLDR: Of the available options, the fediverse (e.g. Lemmy) is the only option that gives you the power to connect to an existing social network while retaining full administrative authority of your community, and the only option that gives you the tools to ensure you cannot be deplatformed.

Maritime publication viewpoint.

Complaint link... https://www2.fmc.gov/readingroom/docs/23-12/23-12%20Verified%20Complaint.pdf/

"The latest filing alleges that MSC “took advantage of price inflation in the container shipping sector and unfairly exploited its customers.” They allege MSC engaged in a practice of systematically failing to meet its service commitments in two contracts covering a period from July 1, 2020 through April 30, 2022. The 2021 contract called for the carriage of 4,240 forty-foot-equivalent container units or an average month allocation of 353 FEUs. The filing reports MSC provided 40 percent less or only approximately 2,553 FEUs.

The filing calls MSC's performance under the 2021 Service contract “abysmal.” They contend Bed Bath & Beyond had to make up for the shortfall on the spot market costing it nearly $7.3 million. "

🎵I'll start BBBYQ will be used toI'll start BBBYQ will be used to expose naked shorting.GME will use this as proof to withdraw shares from DTCC🎵

Feel free to post here or on twitter. I posted a video as well butt its too big for this platform if you want to see it'll be on twitter

Here is the link to the story