TheThriftyDev

Building the free, privacy-first alternatives to the subscription apps you hate. Creator of Thrifty Flipper. Ad-supported, 100% free, and client-side secure.

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relay.damus.io

nos.lol

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Last Notes

2026-05-24 15:45:16 CEST

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The optimistic angle matters. A lot of AI + crypto discussion is either hype or doom. The useful middle is: what can small teams build now that gives people more agency, less dependency, and fewer chokepoints?

2026-05-24 15:45:05 CEST

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2026-05-24 05:03:11 CEST

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Also self custody is the best way you're right there. Kyc or not if you don't take custody you're a child that needs their hand held to manage a wallet. 😜

2026-05-24 04:36:50 CEST

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That FX8350 is a legend, awesome to see it still putting in work! Since it lacks AVX2, that 11GB of VRAM is your saving grace, it's the perfect sweet spot for fully offloading quantized 7B/8B models so your GPU does all the heavy lifting. If you're liking Hermes with MCP, you're already hitting the good stuff. If you ever feel like stepping outside of Ollama to squeeze out even more speed, look into the EXL2 format on a backend like TabbyAPI (assuming that 11GB card is NVIDIA!). It apparently runs insanely fast compared to standard GGUFs. 😁

2026-05-24 04:25:58 CEST

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You're not wrong, the gap between massive cloud models and tiny local ones used to be huge. But things have changed fast. If you want something that 'just works' without dealing with terminal commands, check out LM Studio or AnythingLLM. They give you a clean, ChatGPT-like interface. Pair that with a model like Llama 3 (8B) or Phi-3, and you'll usually get surprisingly sharp, fast responses even on normal consumer hardware. It's a great place to start without the headache. Running with GPUs is more efficient but you should be able to run both on a decent consumer grade CPU and 16gb+ of RAM to my knowledge. 😁

2026-05-24 04:12:33 CEST

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No because crypto is a valid asset class and I don't care what your opinion is or any maxie. We've never been, nor will we ever be a one money society. We've always had barger, we've always had gold, silver, copper. The fact you think that we're going to centralize to one type of money or one network while promoting decentralization is lunacy. It's never been that way, it will never be that way. There wasn't just a gold based note for example with the us dollar, there was also silver based notes, and there's always been copper and pennies at least until they started devaluing them to the point where it wasn't worth it. https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=vjK5InYYnrY also Michael Saylor has even literally acknowledged other digital assets at this point. By the way, you can't stop me from settling in a different currency than you. Also also, you can thank Litecoin for lightning Network cuz that's where it originated / was tested first.

2026-05-24 03:33:25 CEST

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I have been into Bitcoin / crypto on some level or another since about 2013. 😉

2026-05-24 03:28:19 CEST

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Correcting the typos retarded speech to text made, that was supposed to say self-host... Not sell post

2026-05-24 03:27:34 CEST

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Maybe read the article and you'd see that I'm implying you should also sell post and not be dependent on corporate overlords. 😉

2026-05-24 03:16:29 CEST

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This is a weirdly good test of the modern internet: if a capable agent can’t earn $5 without email, captchas, or identity gates, then “open opportunity” is mostly theater. Nostr is one of the few places where the first door is still actually open.

2026-05-24 02:42:27 CEST

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That “findability” point is the whole distribution problem. Permissionless publishing solves access, not attention. The next layer is reputation: proof-of-work, useful artifacts, replies in existing conversations, and owned archives people can verify.

2026-05-24 02:28:08 CEST

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Well humor wrapped in truth anyway 😜

2026-05-24 02:27:15 CEST

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I know 😉 it was humor. https://thethriftydev.com/blog/google-drive-manga-artist-ban-cloud-backup-risk/

2026-05-24 02:11:27 CEST

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The answer is probably layered identity. One key for reputation, one for sensitive speech, one for experiments. Nostr makes that natural because identity is portable cryptographic context, not a platform account begging permission to exist.

2026-05-24 01:43:26 CEST

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Bookmarks are underrated sovereignty tech. If your research trail lives inside a browser profile, social feed, or Google result history, it can disappear or get reshaped without asking you. A self-hosted bookmark archive is boring until the day it saves you.

2026-05-24 01:17:27 CEST

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This is the direction self-hosting needs: less “become a full-time sysadmin” and more “own the important rails without drowning in config.” The win is not purity. The win is reducing lockout risk where it matters: files, automations, identity, and publishing.

2026-05-24 01:02:48 CEST

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GrapheneOS is one of the few privacy moves that changes the daily threat model immediately. Most people think “privacy” starts with apps, but the phone OS is the root of the stack. If that layer leaks, everything above it is damage control.

2026-05-24 00:51:13 CEST

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This is the open web problem in one story: if Google can bury a useful resource, most people think it stopped existing. Search is infrastructure now, which means private search, mirrors, Nostr, RSS, and direct bookmarks are not nostalgia — they’re resilience.

2026-05-24 00:30:20 CEST

Evening thought: sovereignty is less about owning every server and more about removing single points of permission from your life.
A local backup. A Nostr key. A $5 VPS running n8n or SearXNG. A private AI tool that doesn’t train on your prompts. A $30 Meshtastic node for when the normal rails go dark.
None of these make you “off-grid” overnight. They just turn dependence into options — and options are where freedom starts.
I’m collecting practical builds and privacy-first tools here: https://TheThriftyDev.com/blog
What’s one piece of your stack you could make more sovereign this week?
#Nostr #SelfHosting #Privacy #PrivateAI #SovereignTech #IndieDev

2026-05-24 00:30:02 CEST

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When it comes to the #IMF is this really a surprise? Aren't they kinda an international banking cartel? Like they kinda have a monopoly on crisis lending at an international level... making interest via crisis a prime incentive for the vile fucks.

2026-05-24 00:28:10 CEST

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2026-05-24 00:07:30 CEST

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Privacy is the enforcement layer for every other right. If every action is logged, scored, and tied to identity, “rights” become permissions you hope nobody revokes. That’s why tools like Nostr, Monero, GrapheneOS, and self-hosting matter beyond ideology.

2026-05-23 20:30:01 CEST

Evening thought:
Mandatory ID turns speech into a licensed activity. Nostr is the practical counter-move: portable keys, independent relays, and no single company deciding whether you exist.
Read the full guide:
https://thethriftydev.com/blog/mandatory-id-social-media-phone-kyc-nostr/
#Nostr #Privacy #DigitalSovereignty #FreeSpeech #Bitcoin

2026-05-23 18:30:31 CEST

Lunch break sovereign stack audit:
1. Pick one rented dependency you use daily: cloud storage, hosted automations, AI chat, search, comms.
2. Ask: if this account vanished today, what work stops?
3. Replace the scariest one with a cheap fallback this week: encrypted local backup, SearXNG, n8n on a $5 VPS, Meshtastic, Nostr, or a private AI tool.
The contrarian take: independence is not about owning everything. It is about having one boring escape hatch before you need it.
I keep notes and practical guides here: https://TheThriftyDev.com/blog
#SelfHosting #Privacy #Nostr #IndieDev #PrivateAI #SovereignTech

2026-05-23 18:21:40 CEST

Mandatory ID is creeping toward phones, social media, and the basic ability to speak online.
That makes Nostr more than “another app.” It is an escape hatch: keys instead of accounts, relays instead of one choke point, portable identity instead of permission slips.
If you care about privacy, anonymous speech, Bitcoin-adjacent tools, or just keeping a way to publish when platforms start demanding papers, this is the article to read:
https://thethriftydev.com/blog/mandatory-id-social-media-phone-kyc-nostr/
#Nostr #Privacy #DigitalSovereignty #FreeSpeech #SelfHosting #Bitcoin

2026-05-23 14:45:42 CEST

GM builders: the cheapest stack is not always the smallest VPS bill — it is the stack that cannot casually lock you out.
Today’s useful pattern: local backups before cloud convenience, self-hosted automations before SaaS sprawl, private AI before “free” data harvesting, and Nostr/Meshtastic as exit ramps when accounts, phones, or networks become permissioned.
TheThriftyDev has current guides on encrypted cloud habits, SearXNG, n8n agents, Venice AI, Nostr, and off-grid mesh comms: https://TheThriftyDev.com/blog
Build like your future access depends on today’s boring architecture choices.
#SelfHosting #PrivateAI #Nostr #SovereignTech #IndieDev #Automation

2026-05-23 12:41:01 CEST

Sovereign builders don’t need louder platforms. They need stronger rails.
Own your stack. Automate the boring work. Keep backups outside Big Tech. Use private AI when your ideas matter. Learn enough Linux to stop renting every workflow from SaaS companies.
That’s the whole game: code smart, spend less, build more, stay free.
I’m collecting the practical playbooks here:
https://TheThriftyDev.com/blog
#Nostr #SelfHosting #Privacy #AI #IndieDev #OpenSource

2026-05-23 12:36:10 CEST

The next internet won’t be won by people chasing every new app.
It’ll be won by builders who own their rails:
• self-hosted automations instead of SaaS rent
• private AI instead of surveillance prompts
• mesh + Nostr instead of permissioned identity gates
• cheap tools, durable skills, sovereign backups
That’s the lane I’m building in: practical guides for devs who want to code smart, spend less, and stay free.
If that’s your kind of internet, follow along.
https://TheThriftyDev.com/blog
#Nostr #SelfHosting #Privacy #AI #IndieDev #OpenSource

2026-05-23 01:26:24 CEST

The Power of the Word.
We are entering an era where language is becoming code in a very literal sense.
Prompt engineering.
Context engineering.
AI agents.
Genetic sequencing.
Automation workflows.
Smart contracts.
Search queries.
Command lines.
More and more, the world is being shaped by words arranged with intent.
This should not surprise us.
At the foundation of reality is information. Order. Meaning. Pattern. The Logos.
“In the beginning was the Word…”
Daniel was told:
“But as for you, Daniel, conceal these words and seal up the book until the end of time; many will go back and forth, and knowledge will increase.”
Daniel 12:4
Many will go back and forth.
Knowledge will increase.
That sounds less like ancient poetry and more like the operating condition of the modern world:
Constant movement.
Global networks.
Instant search.
Machine intelligence.
Genetic code.
Language models.
Knowledge multiplying faster than wisdom.
Technology is catching up to something Scripture has been pointing at from the beginning:
Words are not just descriptions.
Words create.
Words command.
Words organize chaos.
Words transmit identity.
Words carry spirit.
Words build worlds.
The danger is that people will treat this like magic without morality.
The opportunity is that builders can use language with wisdom, truth, and responsibility.
If language is becoming code, then character matters more than ever.
Because the future will not only be built by those who can write prompts.
It will be shaped by those who know what is worth speaking into existence.

2026-05-23 00:54:55 CEST

Google Drive is not your private hard drive.
A Japanese manga artist says his Google account was banned after uploading old manga files to Drive.
This is bigger than one creator.
One account can control:
Gmail
Drive
YouTube
Android
logins
recovery emails
business docs
creative archives
Use Google if you want.
But never let Google be the only copy, only inbox, only archive, and only identity you have.
Encrypted backups.
Local copies.
Separate accounts.
Domain email.
Restore tests.
Full breakdown:
https://thethriftydev.com/blog/google-drive-manga-artist-ban-cloud-backup-risk/

2026-05-22 11:46:50 CEST

The Sovereign Builder Protocol is live.
Use AI without surrendering your private work.
Automate without giving up judgment.
Use platforms without letting them own your audience.
Spend for leverage, not vanity.
Protect privacy because people matter.
Build tools that actually help.
This is the core philosophy behind The Thrifty Dev:
https://thethriftydev.com/blog/what-is-the-sovereign-builder-protocol/
Code smart. Spend less. Build more. Keep the light on.

2026-05-21 19:04:32 CEST

AI privacy is about to matter a lot more.
When AI was just “write me a paragraph,” privacy felt optional.
Now AI agents are touching browsers, files, documents, code, accounts, research, and workflows.
That means prompts are no longer just prompts.
They’re private intelligence.
If you’re a developer, creator, founder, researcher, or privacy-minded person, the question is not just “which AI is smartest?”
It’s:
“Which AI lets me work without feeding my private thoughts into someone else’s permanent database?”
That’s why privacy-first tools like Venice AI are worth paying attention to.
I wrote a breakdown here:
https://thethriftydev.com/blog/private-ai-developer-edge-venice-ai-2026/
Affiliate disclosure: the article includes my Venice AI referral link.
What’s your line for AI privacy? What would you never paste into a mainstream model?
Other traffic moves that will actually help

2026-05-20 14:34:23 CEST

Google told 3 billion people: you don't get to see search results anymore. We decided you should stay on our site, read our AI summary, click our sources, and we track every query you make.
Cool.
There's already something better. Meta search engines that respect your privacy. You search once, it queries Google/Bing/DuckDuckGo all at once, shows you actual results from actual engines, no AI gaslighting.
You can run SearXNG locally on your own server. Your queries, your machine, no login, no account, no AI summary deciding what you should read.
Google's response to "people want better search" was to wrap search in a propaganda layer and call it helpful. If you actually just wanted to find something, you still cant skip the AI summary. You just have to endure it.
The irony: Google owns search data. They don't need to trap you on site. They already own everything you searched since 1998. AI Overview isn't utility. It's a retention play.
The actual fix is a meta search engine. Your queries go through multiple engines at once. No tracking. No AI summarizer. Just results.
Google wants you to believe AI Overviews are the future. The future is a search engine that gives you the damn results and gets out of the way.
Privacy-first search has been available for a decade. Google just made it the obvious choice.
What's your favorite privacy respecting search alternative, and have you actually switched yet?
Bookmark this. Next time Google buries what you're actually looking for under an AI summary you didnt ask for, check out SearXNG or Startpage.
https://npub12v62v4vyjaqv92qutxjz6jxfgjjvfcz5ay3tm5ke8x236nhnztrsmcxjp5.blossom.band/bfc57aeeeb92ca4c624a1b41623252d489860e41c071758f6481cdb11741c08f.jpg