Lambda Piece

If you've been on Twitter in the last couple of hours, you might have seen talk about how major accounts were hacked. Tweets from these hacked accounts began tweeting tweets that mentioned how they wanted to give back to the community, and that they were willing to give back double the amount of Bitcoin that users would send.

(Image: TechCrunch)

While scams of this sort are not unheard of, the sheer size of this scam is noteworthy. While specifics on how these hacks were achieved are still unknown, the number of accounts affected were enough that Twitter has begun to limit some users of tweeting and resetting passwords.

(Image: Twitter Support updating on the incident.)

So while things have seemed to calm down, it's interesting to see a scam of this scale, especially when you take into account that passwords stored by Twitter are encrypted.

(Image: TechCrunch)

So with this recent event, I thought about sharing my thoughts on crypto scams, as well as my limited experience with them.

Too good to be true... Unless...

With this blog being focused on crypto, it's safe to assume that many of you reading this can tell when something is a scam.

After Bitcoin's ATH in early 2018, the amount of scams relating to crypto spiked exponentially. And it was with this spike in price that led many people to invest in crypto, previously being unaware of its existence.

While many of us are confident in our ability to see through these scams, we need to keep in mind that the core reason why scams like these work is because of how outlandish they appear.

With those people who are aware of these scams, seeing them does not affect them. They are aware that it is a scam, and as such most will ignore them, while others will do their due diligence and report them.

But scams are not targeting such users, and it is their impossible promises that push these users away. But it is these same promises that reel in others who are not aware of these scams.

And so, users unaware of these scams may stumble across one, see this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, and decide to jump in. This is why you'll usually see these scams tied to a time limit, pressuring people who may be thinking about sending funds to act in a fast and irrational manner.

While the saying “if it's too good to be true, it probably is” may hold true for many of us, different financial situations may blur this mindset, and lead users to make unwanted decisions.

My own experience

As I've stated before, I began my crypto journey with XRP in late 2017. Before this period, I had already experienced scams in the usual areas, such as tech scams, web banner scams, etc.

It wasn't until the middle of 2018 where I encountered my first crypto scam, while scrolling through Twitter.

While the specifics elude me at this moment, I remember the scam being the usual Bitcoin scam that you see today, where they ask the user to send them a certain amount of Bitcoin with the promise of recieving double the amount.

In hindsight, seeing that these tweet was a scam is an easy statement to make. But at the time, my understanding of crypto was slim, and so I looked into it. I didn't own any Bitcoin at the time, however, and I'm sure this was the reason that I didn't play into the scam.

But my curiosity got the better of me, and I searched on Google of similar ways to grow ones portfolio. The urge to go and buy Bitcoin would take hold of me from time to time, but there was a part of me that said this was a scam, so hold off. And so I did.

Instead, what I found was an entire world on the web where scams are found around every corner. Promises of riches that would be life changing. Fake accounts claiming that these services were legitimate, coupled with fake screenshots of their newly recieved funds.

And it should be noted that I've always considered myself knowledgable when it comes to technology as a whole, as I grew up surrounded by it.

But with crypto being such a new and unknown thing, it comes as no surprise that these scams work. If they didn't, then there would be no market for them.

It's a shame that they still persist in today's age, but hopefully with this most recent event people will become more aware of them, as well as becoming better at spotting such scams.

Stay safe out there, and thanks for reading.

Images used in this article were provided through Unsplash. Some screenshots used are through TechCrunch.

The following content is exclusive to Coil subscribers

I've spoken about CasinoCoin in the past, but I've been wanting to jump back into it for a while now. And so, today I'd like to share my thoughts on it on a deeper level.

For the unaware, CasinoCoin is a cryptocurrency aimed towards the gambling industry, specifically targeting casinos. With this coin operating, casinos will have the option of monitoring live transactions on gambling machines, these being connected to the CSC network. More in-depth information can be found at their website.

But I'm not here to talk about the technical details. For that, there are other sources that do a far better job. Instead, I'd like to focus on the idea of CasinoCoin, and the potential role it might play in the future of gambling.

Ease of use. For everyone.

I'll preface this section by saying that I personally have only visited a casino once in my lifetime. I've never been much of a gambler (or have I? More on this later) and as such I don't know all of the inner workings of casinos.

With that being said, it's easy to see that casinos are disconnected from one another. It's safe to assume that these establishments operate independent from one another. Keep this in mind.

But this isn't anything noteworthy, right? Most business, even those operating within the same industry, are disconnected from one another. They are separate businesses, doing the same thing without any input from eachother.

But here's the thing. Many of these casinos (at least the one I visited, as well as others that I've heard of) use different ways of moving funds from their customers to the establishment.

From what I've seen, most casinos will implement a card system, wherein you deposit your funds into. Only then are you able to partake in the gambling that is offered, and only within chain casinos that are owned by the same company.

If you were to visit a different casino, your previously valid card full of cash becomes invalid, and you're stuck going through the same process again, having to get a different card for said casino.

But what if there was a network that connected these casinos together? This is where CasinoCoin comes into play.

Instead of having to carry all these different cards around, CSC connects all of the different casinos into a single network. Your funds in this network allow you to spend them at any casino that supports the CSC network.

Now, it should be stated that this implementation is far in the future, and the CasinoCoin organization might have different plans in mind. But with the infrastructure in place, implementing said idea would be easy and straightforward.

But that's only looking at the customers side. What about the actual casinos?

Well, this is where things get really exciting.

You see, the gambling industry as a whole has had the issue of verifying its users. While this problem doesn't really exist at a physical location, online gambling has had this issue since its inception. And if casinos were to implement a network that holds multiple casinos, verification becomes an important factor to consider.

With CSC, this problem is solved elegantly.

Under the entire umbrella that is the CSC blockchain, players are required to verify themselves. This gives casinos access to a large and trustworthy database of verified players, with no effort on their part. As per the CasinoCoin website: “CasinoCoin gives operators access to a largely untapped source of players, fully vetted with clear KYC and AML procedures.“

What this means is that operators (the casinos) have access to players that are fully verified and trustworthy. And with AML procedures in place (Anti-Money Laundering), trust is extended not only from the casino to the user, but also from the user to the casinos.

Not only that, but all of this combined creates an environment where regulations can more easily take place, giving users safe options when it comes to gambling.

The possibilities this can create are incredible, because if these things are met, and multiple casinos begin to support the CSC network, users will have a myriad of options to choose from, without any verifications holding them back. Imagine setting up one global casino account for yourself, being able to use it at any casino, wether it's a physical or digital one.

Does gambling stop at casinos?

At the beginning of the article, I mentioned that I had only visited a casino once. I also mentioned that I'm not much of a gambler. But how true is this statement?

When talking about gambling, the first thing that tends to pop up in our minds are casinos, slot machines, poker. That sort of thing.

But we are quick to forget that gambling can be found in other places, and there is one place where gambling has become increasingly more prevalent: video games.

Be it AAA games made by giant corporations, or smaller mobile games you can play on your phone, gambling has found a comfy home in the world of gaming. And while backlash against gambling in this sector has become a major staple in video game communities across the globe, it's safe to assume that it's there to stay.

But what would happen if CSC were to extend into this market as well? This may never happen, sure, but the structure between these differing industries are very similar, and implementing the CSC blockchain into the gaming sector would not take much effort.

So let's take a step into this imaginary world, in which the CSC blockchain is connected to gaming. What would that entail?

Well, for starters, users would gain the same benefits we saw users gain when it came to casinos. So, instead of having to buy X coins on one game, and Y coins on another, you'd have a global account that could be used with any of these games or applications.

Also, having these games connected to the CSC blockchain means that the individual gambling transactions are open to the public, since they are registered on the blockchain. This gives users trust that the outcome of a gamble is legitimate, further increasing trust. The possiblities are truly endless, and as CSC grows, further possiblities will be seen.

Conclusion

We're still early when it comes to having a global blockchain dedicated to gambling, but the mere thought of this is something worth thinking about.

If you would have told me about such a concept ten years ago, I would've scoffed at the idea. But now, I feel like this sort of implementation is only scratching the surface. The future of blockchain connected industries is fascinating, and something we should all keep an eye on.

Stay safe out there, and thanks for reading.

Images used in this article were provided through Unsplash

The following content is exclusive to Coil subscribers

“Less is more”.

The above expression (and in turn the title of today's article) is something we've all heard of time and time again.

And with such an overbundance in its use, we tend to take this saying and look at it as another meaningless quote. The validity of what it tries to convey is reduced to nothing, and as such we move on, giving it a second glance at most.

So, why am I talking about it? Well, today I'd like to take a closer look at “less is more”, and how it can apply to us when we're going through a pandemic.

Overstimulation in modern society

Today, we all carry with us this little slab of glass. A tiny little piece of technology that allows us to consume the internet as a whole, on demand.

For me personally, I see no problem with this. While there are certainly negative aspects of being constantly connected, I'll be focusing on my own personal experience here. So while I am aware of these negatives, I've personally never had a problem with it in general.

That statement was true up until recently. Specifically, until the 2020 pandemic took hold and the lockdowns started.

Last week I touched upon this slightly, where I wrote about my experience with living through a lockdown, and how that affected the ways I interacted with my hobbies as well as my consumption of entertainment in general.

In today's article, I wanted to further share my thoughts on this topic, with a more focused look at how an overabundance of media choices has affected me personally.

To reiterate, these opinions are my own, and with the current global situation, we're all going to experience these things differently. With that in mind, my own personal biases should be expected here.

Too many choices

Throughout my life, I've always enjoyed media. Be it films, music, or video games, I've always enjoyed the near countless stories and ideas that we, as a society, have created over the last century.

And while streaming services such as Netflix have been around for years now, I never had an issue with the choice that comes with media.

Today, we're given a near infinite amount of options. No matter what kind of media you're into, you'll always have a healthy amount of choices to choose from. With this choice comes discoverability, allowing us to branch out from our original tastes, letting us discover new content that has the potential to grab our attention.

With the recent pandemic, however, I have found myself in an odd situation. And while this situation is unwarranted with what is going on around the world, I still feel the need to share it.

The problem, for me, has been the amount of choices.

Now, you'd be right to point out that this issue has existed for years now, and is not something new. And you'd be right. But with the lockdown and all its free time, I've noticed an overabundance when it comes to media stimulation.

What I mean by this is that, over the last couple of weeks, I've felt tired in the sense of how much content I've consumed.

Prior to the pandemic, my routine surrounding media consumption was fairly straightforward. I'd occasionally watch a movie or two, or I'd sometimes dedicate a weekend to binging a show. When it came to music, I'd listen to it while working on school work, or a project.

But now, with my days consisting mostly of free time, the amount of said time dedicated to media consumption has increased drastically.

And with that, my overall enjoyment has been reduced at the same rate.

Now, instead of sitting down for an hour or two, once a week, to watch a film, I'm watching maybe four or five films every single week. Back then, the overall percieved enjoyment that I got from that single film was huge, leaving me with a lasting impression of what I had seen for days, if not weeks.

Now, I couldn't list you the last ten films I've watched. While I might remember some of the names, if you were to ask me what the plot of said film was about, I'm willing to be I wouldn't be able to answer that. At best I'd give you a convoluted answer, and at worst I'd mix up the plots of various films into one.

And while we could attribute this to the general feeling of being in a lockdown (and as such having days feel like they are passing by at a rapid rate), I feel that a more realistic answer would be that of overstimulation.

What I mean by this is that, in today's modern age, we are more than likely to watch a film with our phone at our sides. Even though we're actively watching it, we're always pressed to grab our smaller devices to fill in the “boring parts” of the film or media we're consuming.

As such, whenever I'm currently watching a film, the amount of time I spend actively watching it has decreased dramatically. I'm willing to bet that I'm distracted by my phone or other device for half of the films runtime.

Because now, instead of watching a single film and enjoying it, I'm constantly watching things, over and over again, trying to pass the time. And its with this repetition that comes boredom. So you add in other sources of entertainment along with the main one. And in the end you're left with an overstimulation of content, with different things being bombarded at you from different sources.

I'm not sure what to make of all of this if I'm being honest. All in all, it's something I've noticed in my daily routines, and thought that by sharing this, others may notice these routines in their own daily lives.

And while I don't really see a problem with this, it's still an interesting consequence of being enclosed in the same place for a long period of time.

Stay safe out there, and thanks for reading.

Images used in this article were provided through Unsplash

The following content is exclusive to Coil subscribers

I've been mentioning changes that are coming to this blog, and today I'll be dedicating this entire article to all the changes that are coming, as well as estimated timelines for these changes.

Blog Post Scheduling:

• Blog posts won’t have a set schedule as to when they are released. I thought about this, and decided that while at the moment I have the ability to keep a decently rigid schedule when it comes to writing here, I cannot guarantee that this will be the case in the future, especially considering that this current ability is due to the fact of the current global pandemic. Right now, I do have a lot of free time. But since I can’t predict how things will play out in these coming months, I won’t be actively scheduling posts.
• Instead, I’ll be giving updates on my Twitter when it comes to upcoming posts. As an example, let’s say that I’ve started work on an article. While said article is still being written, I might post the header image on Twitter, giving a sort of teaser to it, as well as letting you know that the release should be coming in the coming days.
• Also, even though scheduling for posts is out of the picture, whenever I do post articles, they’ll be posted within a more consistent time during the day. Instead of publishing my post the moment is done, I’ll instead publish it either in the morning or evening, releasing a tweet beforehand as a sort of heads up. Going back to the previous example, let’s say I finish that article on a Thursday evening. Instead of releasing it at night, I’ll post a tweet saying that the post will be live the following morning. A second tweet will also be posted on that morning once the post is up.

Content and topics:

• As many of you know, this blog started out with a focus on XRP. While I occasionally touched on crypto in general, most articles were focused solely on XRP. As opposed to other crypto blogs, my articles never really touched on the technical aspect of XRP. Instead, I tried to look at XRP and crypto through a more psychological lens, giving personal opinions on how these things may affect us mentally, etc. The reason for the lack of technicality is simply because I do not have enough experience with the technical aspects of crypto. I’m by no means ignorant to the more complicated workings that come with cryptocurrencies, but I never felt comfortable giving such information, because I myself do not know enough about it to tell others.
• These types of XRP articles will not stop so don’t worry about that. I’m still part of the XRP community, and have no intentions of leaving it.
• Instead, I’ll be broadening the amount of topics I discuss on here. While not a final list, here’s some of the topics you can expect to see in the future:

1. The usual XRP and crypto articles, but with less frequency.
2. Projects with some relationship to XRP (think Cinnamon Video, Coil, etc).
3. Casual Monday posts, where I dive into personal experiences regarding daily life (the most recent one touches on my experiences with living through a pandemic, for example).
4. Ramble posts. These are looser pieces of writing, where the amount of time required to write them being far less. These are the less “serious” articles that I put out, and are quick enough opinion pieces more or less.
5. Reviews. These will be rare, and I’ll try to keep the things I review somewhat related to crypto. Say if Ledger releases a new product, you might find a review here about it. Service and software reviews relating to crypto can be expected as well.
6. Something Different posts. These are going to be completely unrelated to crypto. Articles in this category will range from film and video game reviews, thoughts on various products (say I buy a new computer, and end up hating/loving it, I might share my thoughts on it). These articles will have the leading title of Something Different before the main title, so you’ll know what kind of post to expect before reading.

For now I’ll stick within these topics, but in short, expect a bigger variety in what you read here!

Timeline:

• New topics are currently live.
• The bigger, more serious posts will be posted on weekends, with a target of either Friday evening or Saturday morning.
• Other types of articles will be sprinkled throughout the week.
• A revamped “brand” image & logo should be completed by the end of this month.
• News on future content on Cinnamon Video should drop in early August. This is still being worked on, so things may change. But for now, I'm aiming for an early August release on what you can expect, with a late Fall release on the actual content.

And there you have it, a condensed list of all the changes.

Stay safe out there, and thanks for reading.

The following content is exclusive to Coil subscribers

Boredom and free time are two of the things that many of us can relate to, given the current global pandemic. And while the responsibilities that we are given never go away, not even in these trying times, we've got more free time than ever before.

We might spend this time on things that matter to us, be it that personal passion project you've been wanting to do all these years, or catching up on work, but at the end of the day we turn towards the wide web to forget about the worries that we carry.

Online video is a giant sector on the internet. While many of us take it for granted, the ever growing amount of users turning towards videos online is growing at an unprecedented pace. And with mobile applications such as Tik Tok taking the mobile scene by storm, it's clear that the online video market has plenty of room to grow.

But as the years have gone by, many have felt a deterioration when it comes to the quality of service provided by these massive companies. I find myself in this group, and today I'd like to look at Cinnamon, a video platform built on top of the Coil subscription model.

Just click and watch... Right?

Before we jump into Cinnamon Video, let's take a look at the current options available to us.

Youtube doesn't need a introduction. You've used it, that I am sure of. With it being the number one spot for online videos, the amount of content Youtube offers is unparalleled when compared to its competition. Think of anything, and I mean quite literally anything, and you'll probably find some variation of it on there. With a near limitless amount of content, you'll find yourself at home there. And if the content you're looking for can't be found, well, then you can just as easily start making it yourself, publishing it on the platform for everyone to see.

When looking at Youtube at a glance, things seem fine. And in all honesty, they are. The setup that Google has created works perfectly fine, both for themselves, the viewers, as well as creators. It's the little things, though, that start to pile on top of one another. And it's these little things that have become a sort of invisible nuisance, only being seen with enough exposure to them.

Take, for example, advertisements. Sure, it would be naive to assume that Youtube could work without them, and we've seen Youtube push it's viewers with its subscription service, allowing you to access all of its content without those pesky ads. This could be seen as a version of Cinnamon, wherein a Coil subscription is required for viewing the content on the platform.

The difference between these two subscriptions might seem little, but the way I see it, it's the path laid beforehand by each individual platform that dictates how we, the viewers, will intrepret such a subscription.

Money makes the content

It's no surprise that money, or financial gain, is at the core of our modern society. And online video services are no different. With Youtube, it's way of doing things has always been to provide the general experience of using their platform for free, no money required on either the viewer or creator. This, in principle, is a great thing. It allows literally everyone with a internet connection to interact with their content, giving them even more users to feed ads to. It has been a way of creating revenue without directly needing funds from the platforms users.

But as the platform grows, changes are needed to sustain that revenue. In Youtube's current state, you'll find most videos to contain at least one video advertisement, sitting right behind the actual video you planned on watching.

When looking at this from a superficial point of view, things don't look so bad. After all, it's just a short video, and a skippable one at that (although there are some unskippable ones, mind you). But let's look at this from a different perspective, for the sake of argument.

Think about you're own usage when it comes to Youtube. You go there to watch videos from creators you follow. Specifically, you go onto Youtube to watch those videos, not the short videos of ads that are bombarded at you with every click of a thumbnail.

The content we watch on Youtube has become muddled with messages from ads. When you watch that video about cooking, not only do you take away what the video was about in and of itself, but you leave with the little whisper of the ad that came before it as well. A bombardment of un-needed information. Sometimes relevant, but often not relevant in the slightest.

A subscription might fix this, sure. But the free option still exists. And most will not bother switching over, not wanting to hand their hard earned cash for something deemed unnecessary. When given the choice between something paid or free, most will lean towards the latter.

But what if there was no choice?

The sweet smell of Cinnamon

Alright, buckle up folks. This is the part where I ramble and gush over Cinnamon Video, as well as Coil.

So with Cinnamon, there are no ads. They don't exist on the platform. Instead, creators get income when Coil subscribers view their content, and (as far as I understand) this amount will depend on how long said Coil subscriber stays on their video.

But wait, there's also a free option. If you're without a Coil subscription, you can still go ahead and watch some videos on the platform. These videos are made free to watch by the creators themselves, allowing them to choose which videos are open to the public, as well as choosing videos that are locked behind a Coil subscription.

When I first encountered Cinnamon, this method of locking content seemed outlandish to me. Back then, the thought of only getting access to some, not all, videos seemed like a waste. It's funny when I look back at that mindset, seeing how a lot of us viewers complain about things that are given to us for free.

But the thing is, if you're a Coil subscriber and you watch one of these free videos, you'll still be supporting the creator.

And so, even though the video is free for public viewing, the creator still has a chance on making income if Coil subscribers watch those videos.*

*NOTE: I couldn't verify this on Cinnamon's website, but if the same method of Coil subscription is being used there as it is here, then I can only assume that they're using this method as well.

Think about that for a second. You've got Cinnamon, a video platform, where free content is provided. With zero advertisements. And the creator is still able to be supported with these free videos.

So when you go to watch a video on there, you're not greeted by a loud, unnecessary advertisement on some product. Instead, you're greeted by the video. The video you clicked on. The content you were looking for is presented to you right there, no strings attached.

It's a video platform where the first thing you see is the video, not the ads. And sure, you might be locked from watching certain videos. But with this method of subscription, viewers can sift through free content, and decide wether or not it would be worth spending the $5 a month on it. Not only that, but with the knowledge that you, as a viewer, are contributing to the creator in real time when you watch their videos, is an even bigger incentive to grab said subscription. It's like Patreon, if Patreon was an umbrella service that covered the entire site, giving contributions to the creators you yourself are interested in.

With the Coil subscription, subscribers are given a easy, non-intrusive way of supporting the content they love.

But wait, there's another positive aspect that comes from this.

Creating content without distractions

So let's suppose you're thinking about starting a video channel. And let's assume you choose Youtube as the platform where you'll publish your videos, since it's the most well-known.

You start planning your channel, jotting down ideas on the type of content you'll make, the things you want cover, what you want to show. All that good stuff.

Things are going good, but you realize that you want to make some money off of this. It may not be your main motivator, but it's something you want to keep in mind. And so you start looking at ways to maximise your earnings, with your original plans being morphed by this idea.

Let's say your original plan was to make short, interesting tutorial videos. The tutorials you planned on making didn't really need a lot of time to explain things, but now, you realize that to get on Youtube's good side, you have to follow the rules of the algorithm.

And so you decide to lengthen your videos to be at least ten minutes long. But what will you put in those extra five minutes? It's not like you can just leave that time without any content. So you stretch the subject out, adding filler where filler is not needed.

Your original idea of having short, concise videos were transformed into long, extra-padded videos.

But hey, that's alright. Maybe most viewers won't care, or even notice. So you go ahead with making your videos.

But wait, there's a problem. You're video is about a topic that Youtube's algorithm isn't too fond of. You can still go ahead and make the video, but it'll get demonetized. And after all of this planning, there's no way you're backing down.

So you make sure to change your video a bit, taking out the bits and pieces that might get your content flagged and demonetized. Even though those bits and pieces were something you wanted to share, you can't. Not if you want to get your video monetized at least.

And so the original idea you once had has completely changed, and the content your making isn't really the content you'd like to be making, but rather content that is being guided by an algorithm.

It should be noted that I haven't had any direct experience with making Youtube videos, only hearing about it from others. So the above example might be an outlier, but it's still something to consider.

With a video platform being free from advertisers, the content it can provide is consequentially freed as well.

If you're a creator on Cinnamon, there's no worrying about the length or subject matter. Sure, there are guidelines to the type of content, but these are well within reason.

Instead, as a creator on Cinnamon, you only worry about one thing: your video.

You don't need to think about the length, or if some algorithm is going to bury you video. All you have to do is make content you want to make. If people enjoy it, you'll be rewarded.

And if you want to get more funds from the content you create, you do the obvious thing:

You make it better. Not worse.

And that's what Cinnamon has done. It has made video sharing better, not worse.

Freed from the shackles of advertisers, Cinnamon presents its community with a platform where the content is dictated by its users and creators, not by corporations that push content to their own ideology.

Cinnamon, in essence, is a message to the other platforms. A message that you can, in fact, respect creators and users alike. That you can provide a good experience, wether you're watching a video or creating one.

Stay safe out there, and thanks for reading.

Images used in this article were provided through Unsplash

The following content is exclusive to Coil subscribers

So a quick note before we start. The “Casual Monday” articles are a new addition to the type of content you'll be seeing here. As the name implies, the subject of these articles are far more casual than the rest, and the goal is to get one up weekly, with them being posted on Monday mornings. The topics that I'll cover in these will be far more varied, as well as being more focused on my own personal things, ranging from personal experiences to maybe a review on an interesting film I've recently watched. In short, Casual Monday will essentially be a personal blog. Also, the writing style will be far more loose, but I'll still try and keep the quality of the writing as good as it can get. That's it, that's the end of the side note. Enjoy!

Stuck indoors with the world at your fingertips

It needs to be said that we are all experiencing the consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic differently. Some people are going through intense rough times, with many losing their jobs as a result of the pandemic. Stress may be a universal feeling surrounding this global event, but the intensity of said stress will surely differ drastically depending on the individuals circumstances.

With that in mind, the advice and opinions I give here are not going to be useful for everyone. If that's the case for you, then at the very least you've gotten a different point of view of someone living through the massively unexpected year of 2020.

Stuck at home for a long, long time.

To give you some more context on my living situation, I currently live alone in a reasonably sized apartment. Before the pandemic I was living with roommates, but they've all decided to head back to their hometowns to be with their families. While I've thought about doing the same, my family is essentially at the other side of the country. Being homesick is something I've been able to deal with pretty well up until now, so unless that changes I'll stay where I'm at.

Also, I've always been a fairly introverted person, so that trait has definitely helped with all this. Although I feel the need to clarify that introversion, at least in my case, is not on the extreme level. When people think about introversion and extroversion, the stereotype of either extreme is usually what comes to mind. So to give a more accurate depiction, I love social interaction, and have always had a good time being out and about, but I've also never had a problem with spending a weekend isolated, either diving into a hobby with no distractions or just enjoying the time alone.

So while I've definitely felt the toll that comes with isolation, I've been able to enjoy myself with little effort, given the circumstances.

When the announcment of the initial lockdown became public, my initial reaction was fairly positive. It doesn't need to be said that the positive reaction was aimed towards my own interpretation of what my lockdown would look like, and not towards the lockdown in the context of the pandemic.

At the time, the thought of being able to work from home, and essentially having a drastic increase in the amount of free time I'd have, was something began to look forward to. This sentiment was obviously not felt by the general public, with many of my close friends and roommates feeling the complete opposite. For them, the idea of being stuck indoors was unthinkable. I empathize with those people, and honestly have no idea how they're all doing it.

But for me, being stuck indoors turned out to be a fairly great thing. There was clearly some downsides, and as the months went by my general feeling towards being locked down has definitely changed, but I've gotten used to those as well.

So much to choose from, so much time

Once the lockdown began, I was faced with a sudden increase in time I could use for essentially anything. And with the internet being in front of me for nearly all of it, I thought of the endless possibilites in terms of learning and growing.

I'm sure those reading this have always wanted to learn that one thing. To learn something of interest, but never really finding the time to learn it. For myself, I've always had a long list of things I've always wanted to learn. Some of these are music production, learning how to draw (something other than crudely made stick figures), mobile app development, photography, and some other minor ones.

The issue with these is that most, if not all of them, are extremely dense subjects. And with a personal desire to delve into all of them, this creates an unrealistic goal of learning dozens of information-dense subjects. I also have this mindset of not wanting to start something if I know I won't be able to finish it. So before the pandemic, my though process was that of getting excited to get into one of these hobbies, but then realizing the time it would take to actually learn them and being crushed at the realization that I would not be able to find the time to go through with it.

With the start of the pandemic, these subjects came back to my mind. I saw the free time that I had, and thought of dedicating said time to something “productive”, gaining knowledge that I've otherwise wouldn't be able to.

But then that mindset shifted with the realization that, even though I had two months to dedicate this to, I felt that it wasn't enough. At the time, I was sure that the two month-long lockdown was gonna be the only lockdown we would see. So instead of focusing my time on these interests, I put them off and treated my free time as just that: free time.

The first couple of weeks went fairly well, where I spent most of my time enjoying countless films and shows, discovering new music, and getting back to playing video games.

On that last one, I've always enjoyed video games. When I was younger, video games were my main source of entertainment. I was always amazed at the stories and ideas that you could find in them, being able to experience hundreds of different things through gameplay alone. As I got older, more responsibilites where thrown at me. With less time, video games took a backseat. And with college being the current thing that takes most of my attention, video games is something that I've had to leave behind. I'd play the occasional game from time to time, but if I had to guess, I probably only played four or five games in the last two years.

But with all of the free time I had now, video games became a viable option when it came to entertainment. For me, I got the most enjoyment from the more story driven games. Stories that you could experience in a more direct manner, at least when compared to other forms of entertainment (like films). Since these types of games are usually fairly long, and have a more structured way of telling a story, I would only play them when I knew I had the time to be able to just sit down for a couple of hours, uninterrupted and able to fully dive into the game for hours on end.

And so I got back into them, thanks to the free time. Also (and I know this is an obvious thing to say), I want to say that I was impressed by the graphical advances that have been made in the last couple of years. Some of the games I played had me stopping in my tracks within the game, where I would spend a couple of minutes turning the camera around and looking at the environment. The differences in lighting alone blew my mind, with some games having incredible scenes that I would never have expected to see in our current console generation.

I'll probably go into more detail on some of my favorite games that I've played so far in a future Casual Monday article, if there's any interest in that. There was also a handful of films that I was able to enjoy, as well as TV shows. And while I could go on for hours on this subject, I'll leave it at that for now.

Something else that I noticed while being in lockdown was the way in which I viewed my home. Let me try and explain. For me, routines start to form when you live in a place for a while. Not only that, but I've found that some routines are sort of linked to individual rooms. So, for example, before the pandemic I would always have around one hour where I would just sit on my desk and browse the web, with no real aim towards what I would look for. I'd spend my time browsing through news, reading articles, casual stuff like that.

This hour-long period was situated before I'd go to bed. So it was a sort of wind-down for me, where I'd drink some tea and just relax while browsing the web, then proceeding to go to sleep. The thing is, this ritual was located not in my bedroom, but rather in the living room. I have a desk there, and it's always been the designated spot for where I use my computer and get some work done.

But during the pandemic, the location of this ritual (and many others) changed, as well as the length of it. So now, instead of spending that one hour browsing the web before bedtime in the living room, I spend maybe two or three hours dispersed throughout the day on this, all over the house. Maybe a couple of minutes on the desk, then switching it over to the bedroom, and then ending up watching youtube videos in the kitchen for the rest.

In hindsight, this change isn't something that noteworthy. The time being spent online went up with the amount of free time, and so this added extra time changed the way in which I used this ritual.

In general, my entire routine has changed to something far more chaotic. Especially my sleep routine, with it being an absolute mess even now. If I know I have nothing noteworthy planned for the following day, I'll usually end up falling asleep at around five in the morning. An unhealthy habit, no denying it. But a hard one to change given the circumstances.

Things I've enjoyed

Some of the things I've enjoyed spending my time on are things that I never expected to enjoy.

One of these is cooking.

For most of my life, cooking has always been a sort of chore. I've never hated it per se, but if I the option to either cook or not cook, the former would always be the one I chose.

But now, cooking has become an incredibly rewarding passtime. I'm by no means experienced in the slightest, but going through the process of cooking the meal, and then being able to sit down and enjoy it, is incredibly rewarding. If you've dabbled with the idea of starting to cook, definitely give it a try. Not only do you get to learn something new as you go along, you'll end up with food at the end.

Another thing that surprised me was excercise. While I've always tried to remain relatively active, throughout the years it's gotten harder to do so. And as time passed on, the motivation to start working out again never really came back. But after a “what the heck” during the lockdown, I'm back at a routine that keeps me active throughout the week. Excercise not only has those health benefits, but has also turned into a great way to fill up my free time.

Other than that, older habits just got longer time slots in my time. Time messing around on the web turned from an hour or two to maybe five hours a day. Social media use increased a lot as well, although I can partially forgive that given the social distancing that a lot of us are experiencing.

And there you have it. My eperience with passing the time during an unexpected year.

Thanks for reading!

Images used in this article were provided through Unsplash

The following content is exclusive to Coil subscribers

2020 has been a year to remember. With the current pandemic still raging through the headlines, as well as the uncertainty regarding the future of major economies across the globe, things have certainly been rather hectic.

With all of that going on (and still going on as of writing this) I decided to take a break from social media, as well as taking a break from writing here. While not for everyone, I found it refreshing to take a step back from the constant barrage of information.

There was, however, a side effect.

Shortly before deciding to take a break, I posted my thoughts on the news that Ripple was changing its ODL strategy. While my thoughts on the manner were fairly optimistic at the time, during my break I started to look at that news (as well as the then-current state of crypto) with a more critical eye. It was there that I started to grow more critical of XRP, as well as the entire crypto market.

With all that being said, I decided to share those thoughts with you in today's article. It should be noted that, while I've grown more critical of XRP (and I go more in depth on this below) I have also gained more optimism with it as a whole.

The Storm Emerges. A Seed is Planted.

It's astounding to me how external factors impact our mentality on things. A negative review of a film can impact our perception of it, even after having seen it. Or positive feedback on a product you plan on buying can push you towards buying it, without having handled it physically.

The COVID-19 pandemic is one of those external factors. It should be noted that this applies differently for different people. Just because I can point towards the pandemic and call it a major external factor towards my mentality towards things, others may feel otherwise. It's easy to single out a lone factor and call it a day, not taking into account the countless factors that may be in play as well.

As a result, my thoughts on this are highly biased due to the fact that we all live different lives. As such, keeping this bias in mind will be important while reading through this. What I'm writing is not factual, but rather anecdotal, and I feel this is an important distinction to make, especially when considering the sensitivity of speaking negatively towards a subject that is highly divisive. In this case, that subject is XRP.

While I can only assume that most of you reading this felt a bit of unease during the beginning of the pandemic, I can also only assume that most of you were not too bothered by it. After all, humanity as a whole has fought through far greater challenges in the past, so it would make sense that we would get through this with minor damage.

During the early stages of the pandemic, I found myself with this mindset as well. Even though I felt that unease, for the most part I knew we'd be fine. The road ahead might be messy, sure, but for the most part I knew we'd come out the other end, stronger and more aware compared to our past selves.

And I still feel this way. While the pandemic has ravaged the globe, and countless lives have been lost, I still believe that things will work out in the end. We won't get there unscathed, but we'll get there nonetheless.

It wasn't until my mind shifted focus towards crypto were I began to feel more grim about the future of cryptocurrencies as a whole, specifically XRP.

To point out the obvious, this blog is focused strongly on XRP. While I'm interested and follow countless other cryptocurrencies, XRP has remained my primary focus since the beginning. It's what peaked my interest in crypto when I first started out, and this platform will remain dedicated towards it.

Going back on track, this shift in mindset towards XRP came as a surprise. While I've always tried to keep an open mind with things in general, I've always tried to be extra careful when it came to investments. As the oft-repeated saying goes, emotional investing is a big no-no. It can lead to irrational decisions that, at the heat of the moment, may not seem so irrational. This can then lead to severe losses. And while many of us are here to be a part of the future of currencies, it's safe to assume that, at the core, many of us are here for the potential of financial gain.

On that last note, it's no secret that the price of XRP has remained relatively stagnant. It doesn't need to be said that this obviously leads to frustration. Again, at the core of it all, we're here for the potential financial gains. When these expectations are not meant, its natural to feel frustrated. And considering that these expectations are tied to our personal finances, there's a high probability that the resulting frustration leads to stress, although this will differ between individuals and their financial situation.

So while the price movement of XRP has been rather lackluster, I, like many others, had no problem with this. I believed in the future success of the technology (and to be clear, I still do) and had no issue waiting for it to happen.

But during this break, my thoughts on the success of crypto, specifically XRP, started to diminish dramatically.

Worry and Uncertainty. The Seed Begins to Grow.

I was taken aback when these doubts took hold. As I've stated before, I've always tried to view cryptocurrencies with a critical eye, taking in both sides of the argument and forming my own conclusions based on what information I had on had. And while doubt has risen countless times during my short time in crypto, never had I experienced it to such a degree.

As one does when confronted with a sudden shift in belief, I pushed back. Frantically, I tried convincing myself that this doubt was not only irrational, but outright invalid. Whenever the thought of this doubt arose in my mind, I'd push it back, not wanting to accept the fact that I was experiencing this doubt.

Many will point out that this feeling of doubt, whether true or not, began and grew due to emotional frustration. And while I was aware of this fact at the time, I'd be lying to you if I said that I took this information and made use of it to, at the very least, try and understand why I was feeling it.

Sadly, that was not the case.

Instead, what began as a small whisper of uncertainty mutated into constant shouting. A restless reminder of doubt, of the choice I had made, of the time I had spent towards it.

And let's not forget about the pandemic and economical uncertainty that was looming across the globe. When I look back, I'm stunned by the mentality that I carried. I don't consider myself a saint, and have accepted and learned from my mistakes in the pasts. But I've always considered myself as a fairly selfless person, and as I've grown over the years I have always tried to spot my selfish acts and fix them. I have always held the belief that selfishness, at its core, does more damage than good. And while pure selflessness is an impossibility, I firmly believe that one should strive to improve that aspect in their lives.

But things took a turn during the aforementioned period. Humanity as a whole is in distress. Deaths were being logged daily, only increasing in size. Millions were losing their jobs that they depended on to survive.

And there I was, safely tucked away at home. Fortunate enough to be able to work from home. Fortunate to have savings in place.

And there I was, losing sleep over XRP. Constantly panicking over whether or not I had made the right decision in trusting crypto.

In hindsight, this behavior disgusts me. I'm not lost on the fact that, as stated before, different people in different situations will experience these sorts of global events differently. It's easy and valid for one to rationalize this type of behavior based on that mindset. But as cheesy as it sounds, I could not in good conscious validate said behavior. To this day, it hurts me to think back on the intense selfishness. And this incessant worry was directed towards the validity and credence of a digital coin, not it's monetary value. I was losing sleep over whether or not my trust in this digital coin was a mistake.

Specifically, I doubted my belief that XRP, and in turn crypto as a whole, was an area worth pursuing at all. On its surface, this question of whether or not a personal belief is correct seems like a typical, well-rounded examination. And to a certain extent, this claim can be considered as reasonably sound.

In the early stages of doubt, I did what I normally do in such situations: take that internal conflict, accept its existence, examine the differing sides, and try to arrive at a logical conclusion.

This is something that I have applied to my daily life, and is not exclusive to cryptocurrencies. And, anecdotally, it has served me well. When internal clashing of ideas and beliefs occur, I've found that taking a step back and making an effort to examine all of these clashing ideas, especially the ones that are causing the most amount of distress. Even though odds are you'll automatically revert back to the original, more “pleasant” idea, I feel that just taking the time to try and understand the internal issue can add incredible value to our personal understanding of our own decision making. This gives us the possibility for improved decision making in the future. It can be unpleasant at times, but the mere fact that confronting these questions has the potential for bettering oneself is the main reason why I advocate for it in daily life.

Denial and Reluctance. The Roots Burrow into the Soil.

Alas, my doubt surrounding XRP and its potential future continued to grow. Attempts were constantly made to try and quell this feeling, to try and take a step back and examine the conflict of interest.

Part of me pushed this doubt away, with the explanation being that I can't doubt its future. That I had spent too much time and effort into this idea that destroying it would not only be an admittance of defeat, but also the realization of potentially wasted time. That giving up on this potential future not only removes potential financial success, but also removes another voice speaking towards a better, fairer financial future for everyone involved.

The other part of me, however, fought back. Telling me that the destruction of this ideal future was inevitable. That I was blinded by sheer greed, and that said greed was the driving force towards a future that would never meet with reality. That, despite seemingly good intentions, an actual change would remain indefinitely futile. That it was silly to put all this time and hope into something that had not provided concrete evidence of its future use.

Overwhelmed with both sides taking a consistent and chaotic hold, I began to just dismiss both arguments. Instead of challenging either side, I turned my back on the entire issue. Stuck in a sort of limbo, I watched from the sidelines as ideas and beliefs crashed against one another, not willing to step in and confront them due to a fear of not knowing what I would find. Ignorance would become a safe haven, a layer of protection against the unknown.

Blissful Ignorance. A Ghostly Sapling Sprouts.

Modern society has advanced to such a degree that information has become accessible to nearly every single human being on the planet. It's so commonplace that it has ingrained itself into our lives, turning itself into a tool that is with us, constantly waiting in the background, ready to serve anyone and everyone.

It's hard to think of a time where a vast, instantaneous source of information was something most couldn't even dream about. The concept of the Internet is a relatively new one, and yet its a concept that most of us have accepted with little fanfare. Knowledge accumulated over centuries is, quite literally, seconds away from you. The accumulative effort of humanity and its findings spanning a millennia has been condensed into a web that covers the globe in its entirety. We have the entire written history of mankind waiting for us behind little slabs of glass, with more information being added to this network with every passing second.

When it comes to daily life, the need for memorization and learning of information has largely been left behind due to a lack of necessity. Many deem this aspect of the Internet as having a negative impact on future generations, with the assumption being that it will lead to less overall intelligence. I can't speak on the validity of this claim, and have no intention nor am I qualified to even make such a claim.

Instead, all I can offer is my own uneducated point of view on the subject, based purely on my own personal experience and personal bias.

It's safe to say that situations where the fear of the unknown presents itself, it can lead us to lock down any previous desire we had to reveal it. It should be noted that, even though I'm focusing specifically on conflict of belief regarding a digital currency, there are other far more valid situations where this level of internal conflict would make far greater sense. And that in itself is largely what caught my attention.

How is it remotely possible that this conflict, the conflict of whether or not a digital asset is “right” or “wrong”, manifest itself in a world where there are countless other priorities that sit far higher? How is it possible that these internal conflicts lead to external ones?

We get defensive, and we double down. It becomes an instinctual habit, where we no longer debate for or against an idea and/or belief, but rather proclaim a self-serving argument that only pushes us back towards our side. It becomes internal reassurance, a constant cycle of personal bias feeding itself, growing stronger only with time.

With that in mind, let's shift our focus back towards XRP and crypto.

While in this “limbo”, the comfort I got from not knowing the answer to the internal conflict was a fleeting moment. In a way, that was enough. But this “peace” of purposefully remaining in the dark flickered on and off, with each disappearance more painful than the last. In a way, the constant light pressure provided a form of pause, and once this pressure became the new “normal”, I could then look back at the burning question more openly. With a pseudo-clear mindset, the task became less heavy.

Confrontation. A Perpetual Tree.

After days of delay, I take both sides and try to understand them. It's easy to fall back on the side you want to agree with, but understanding of both arguments is needed to form a cohesive conclusion.

Acceptance of the negatives is hard, but necessary. The negatives won't always win, and neither will the positives. A sense of defeat is felt, and is a valid sensation. But at the end of the day, a greater understanding of the situation is nothing but a positive thing.

We're living through interesting times. Experiences regarding current global events will be different. So will be the experiences you have individually regarding cryptocurrencies. Experiences that are anchored in beliefs to these cryptocurrencies will differ as well.

There is no definitive “right” or “wrong” when it comes to those beliefs. That is a question that can only be answered by each individual separately.

Conclusion

While the general tone of this article leans towards a more grim outlook on the future of XRP, I want to clarify that my thoughts remain positive for XRP, as well as cryptocurrencies as a whole. I've grown more critical during this period of time, and in turn have come to the realization that very real problems exist within this space.

As an example, Ripple changing its ODL strategy is one area where conflict may arise in an individual who holds the idea that ODL is the path to success for XRP. (Note that parallels can be drawn from countless other cryptocurrencies, XRP being the one I'm most familiar with).

The arguments made both in favor and against the ODL change are easily made. Both are polarizing to the opposite side, and yet both hold equal value due to there not being enough information to support either argument. A lack of information, however, does not merit an outright dismissal for an argument.

The future of XRP, cryptocurrencies, and all that surrounds it is unknown. Perhaps we are in the “right”, or perhaps we end up in the “wrong”. Or maybe there is no “right” or “wrong”, and all we are left with is a middle-ground. Not an outright denial of the existence of a “right” or “wrong”, but rather a lack of information for an objective decision.

Stay safe out there, and thanks for reading.

Images used in this article are provided through Unsplash

The section that follows is exclusive content for Coil subscribers regarding future blog posts and the direction this blog will take