After interviewing Wietse Wind for the first edition of The Blab, I'm now thrilled to share my interview a good friend, a fellow XRP enthusiast and member of the Good Souls Group who also happens to be the Queen of Everything: Nordic Ann.

RR: Hey Ann! Let's start by going over a day in the life of Ann. What would be your best advice for a good start of the day?
NA: Hey Moncho! Coffee... lots and lots of coffee! 😂

It is the first thought on my mind the moment I open my eyes. I try to allow myself enough time to read the news and have at least three cups before I am off. If the weather is bad (hey, I live in Norway... there is a pretty great chance it will be) I’ll light some candles or the fireplace.

RR: Coffee!!! Absolutely agree, if something happens before my first coffee, I'm not responsible!

And after you've started the day, what are some of the small details that always make your day better?

NA: A hug from my daughter before school. A DM from a friend on Twitter. A chat with a colleague in front of the coffee maker at work. A blue sky after days of rain. A really cool song playing on the radio in my car that I can sing to on the top of my lungs... I really appreciate small things that make me happy. And most of life consists of those little moments.

RR: What's your perfect wrap-up to wine (ahem, sorry) wind down from a long day at work?
NA: Well, it used to be wine! 😂

Now I have actually started walking most days. It has become a way for me to clear my mind after a busy day.

RR: In your Twitter bio you describe yourself among other things, as an educator, property investor, world traveler and “much more”. What is the first that comes to your mind with “much more”?
NA: A people lover!

I am deeply and truly interested in people’s stories. So wherever I go I will talk to people and I have found that everybody has an interesting story. And most people will tell it to you if you are just interested in listening. Just a few weeks ago in Spain I was waiting on my friend at a restaurant and started talking to the lady behind the counter. Turned out she was a professor from Ukraine who because of political conflict and personal tragedy had lost everything, moved to Spain and started working as a dishwasher at a beach restaurant. Years of following hardship had then turned into happiness as fate had led her to love. She now was the proud owner of this restaurant together with her husband. In 15 minutes I had gotten a story that could have been a novel. I would never have heard it if I did not take the time to listen.

RR: This is so true, I am always in a hurry to bring my daughter to daycare in the morning and we had been always greeted by this man playing accordion at the metro station. One day we had a little bit of extra time and stopped to talk to him and he turned out to be such a nice person, who had previously been a sailor traveling around the world.

Among your friends or family, what are you famous for that you aren't famous for on Twitter?
NA: Probably my passion for photography and my epic cheesecakes. I am also famous for laughing loud and often. If you like quiet, I am not your person…

RR: What drives you?

NA: Feeling like I can make a difference!

I am a passionate person who loves a good challenge. I am creative and hard working when I find causes that are important to me and where I know my efforts will matter. Right now I am excited about establishing a new high school aimed at vocational training for teenagers who might not thrive in an academic setting.

I think more than anything I need to feel that my life is meaningful.

**RR: What are some of your personal “rules” that you never break?
**

NA: Never go to bed angry. I am quick to ask for forgiveness and quick to forgive.

I also learnt from Nancy Reagan to just say no :)

RR: You've managed a project to help children at risk in South Africa, can you tell us more about it?
NA: I visited South Africa for the first time fall of 2016. As we know the founders of a wonderful organization called @JamSouthAfrica we got to visit some of the childcare centers they have built and support in some of the townships. Right there and then I knew in my heart that I wanted to do something. So I told my husband: «I will be 50 in two years, this is what I want for my birthday!» Two years later we got to build a child care center for 45 kids and provide food through gifts from friends and family. I even got many tips through the Tip Bot when I mentioned the project in May of 2018. The response on Twitter was what opened my eyes to the wonderful power of micro donations. Ever since I have been passionate about getting the XRP Community involved in ways to improve the world one drop at the time through the work of GSG. (Good Souls Group).

https://twitter.com/nordicann/status/1000653708827463685?s=21

https://twitter.com/nordicann/status/1076051185411543040?s=21

RR: That is absolutely commendable, Ann! Really impressive, the power of micro-donations indeed. Every drop counts to make up an ocean.

Can you tell us, what is your most epic XRP moment so far?

NA: Without a doubt meeting David Schwartz (@JoelKatz) on Times Square at 1 am in the morning. I turned into a complete babbling idiot, but he was one of the nicest people I have met. I was very fortunate to have an invite to the VIP community party in NYC and to be able to bring my son. It really was where I connected with many great people within the XRP community.

RR: David Schwartz? Wow, that is a legendary XRP moment indeed! Ann, you have spent quite a few days traveling and in a way made all of us in the XRP Community your travel companions, by sharing amazing pictures and stories. If you had to stay in one of the places you've visited for a full year, which one would it be?
NA: Well, I love Praslin island in the Seychelles. It is paradise! But maybe a year on the beach with a cocktail in my hand would be a bit long? So far I think my dream is to spend a year in Spain. It is where my heart belongs!

RR: You've also shown all of us in the XRP Community you sure know how to have fun! If you were given 100,000 XRP to throw an amazing party or event next week, what would that look like?

NA: I am actually more a “bring a few beers, good wine and some food and we’ll have a barbecue at the beach” kind of girl.

But I guess if I was doing a classy event, I would upgrade to a fancy beach club, throw in some awesome food, good champagne and the best DJ to keep us all dancing through the night. I would definitely make sure we got some live performances by @kickboytriple and @riley_quin. Oh, and fireworks! Gotta have some fireworks!

RR: That would be quite a party with an amazing line up. If I may, I would like to throw in a couple of jet-skis 😁).

RR: Can you tell us what has been your biggest screw up in the kitchen?

NA: Every day I find new ways to screw up good food! My smoke detector goes off at least a few times a month.

RR: LOL, Ann you've just reminded me of one of my favorite memes:

RR: Smoke detectors sure like to get you in trouble...and speaking of...If you got arrested without any apparent reason, what would your family and friends think you had done?

NA: Hahahaha… Tax evasion on my crypto holdings!

RR: LOL! In one sentence, how would you describe Twitter?

NA: Totally addictive!

RR: If you could get one ticket to any show or event ever, what would you attend?

NA: To see a reunion of Abba would be epic, but I would be pretty happy with a ticket to Swell too.😂 Guess I need to get a YouTube channel up and running!

RR: You are a property investor and very passionate about real estate. Here is an unusual real estate question...If you had to design and build a tree house, how would it look like?

NA: It would be small and cozy with incredible views over a quiet lake. There would be a wrap around porch with two rocking chairs and candles everywhere. And a refrigerator filled with rosé wine!

RR: That would be quite a tree house, I'd probably build a man cave with beer and a TV to watch football and the crypto markets!

Ann, please help me finish this sentence: There’s two types of people in this world...

NA: The people that can’t and the people that can!

To every problem there is a solution. Some people find their way through a maze of obstacles simply because they never give up. Others just complain about how impossible things are. I wanna hang out with the problem solvers!

RR: Ann, thank you so much for this interview, for your friendship and for your love and compassion towards those in need by supporting so many initiatives including the Good Souls Group. By the way, Coil subscribers that read this interview, will be streaming XRP towards the @onemorehome XRP fundraiser! How cool is that!

The has done it! XRParrot

Rolled out for BETA testing in November last year, XRParrot is a service created by Wietse Wind allowing anyone in Europe with an IBAN bank account capable of transferring funds via SEPA to acquire XRP directly from their bank account into their XRP wallet. Wietse is also the creator of other cool apps that are driving adoption of XRP such a the XRP Tip Bot and his upcoming projects working at XRPL Labs.

Wietse confirmed that the one millionth Euro was processed by XRParrot this morning around 8 a.m. CET.

How does it work?

Customers with an IBAN account can go through the registration process at XRParrot.com where they'll be asked to submit a few details including the destination XRP address, their source IBAN and also will be asked to verify a phone number in order to receive a unique reference code to be used for every subsequent XRParrot transaction under that IBAN.

The XRParrot leverages on the XRPL on-ledger decentralized exchange via the Gatehub gateway converting Euro to XRP using its EUR IOU order book.

Applicable fee is 0.5%* with a minimum charge of €1. The outstanding amount after fees are applied is then exchanged for XRP at market price at the time of processing which can be between 1-3 days after making the SEPA transfer (depending on the customer's bank) and then sent over to the XRP destination address entered during the registration process.

XRParrot which has a rolling limit of €2000 within 30 days, is an very convenient and straight forward option for XRP purchases on the spot, for example, it can come pretty handy when you need to reload your XRP Tip Bot.

Passing the €1 million milestone in less than one year is an awesome milestone for the XRParrot!! Having been a BETA tester myself I would like to wish it many more successful flights and a big thank you to Wietse Wind to having shared these amazing news today!

To learn more about the XRParrot visit its FAQ section.

**Additional fees to non-EUR funds (e.g. CHF, GBP) also apply: 1.5% from XRParrot's bank plus probably a fee from the customer's bank.
*

The Internet Of Value is not only poised to improve the lives of millions of families around the globe by significantly reducing the costs of international remittances, it is also unlocking new ways of supporting the causes people like you and me care about.

Let's have a look at some of these creative and outright awesome ways XRP developers and enthusiasts have come up with to support those in need while having fun.

The XRP Tap

The XRP Tap is a brilliant concept on Twitter leveraging on XRP micro-donations via the XRP Tip Bot to resemble a tap that is leaking and never stops. Unlike other leaking taps, we all want the XRP Tap to keep running for many years, sharing its drops of goodness randomly with its Twitter followers worldwide while helping raise funds for the Good Souls Group* charities and campaigns at it has been doing since 2018.

65000+ tips and counting. You can check out all the XRP Tap's activity via the XRP Tip Bot Stats page here:

The XRP Games

The XRP Games by the Crypto Cosmos is a fun and addictive trivia game within the XRP Community, where the participants join by sending 1 XRP to the Twitter handle @CryptoCosmos_ and stay tuned to their Twitter feed until the game begins. Ten questions about crypto and the cosmos are tweeted out over a period of 72 hours and the ten first participants to answer each question score points.

At the end, of each game the XRP pot is distributed awarding 35% to the winner, 20% to the 2nd place and 5% to the 3rd place, and donating the remaining 40% to the Good Souls Group charities. No doubt an awesome way to have fun, win some XRP and donate to those in need.

For more information about the XRP Games follow the host @XRPaul_ on Twitter and visit the XRP Games website (here you can also find the rules and terms/conditions). You can check here

Lotto XRP

Feeling lucky? Enter Lotto XRP! A project developed by
@XRP_Tap with lottery draws running every hour to raise funds not only to support charity efforts but also further development of the XRP Ledger via the XRP Community Fund!

To participate, simply tip 0.25 XRP (The cost of each ticket) to @Lotto_XRP and wait for the draw within that hour to select the winner (Done via SQL Query). 90% of the raised XRP pot goes to the draw winner, while the remaining 10% is shared between @GoodXRP, @XRP_Fund, @XRP_Tap and a lucky retweeter for the draw tweet. Each with 2.5% of the pot.

All XRP Tip Bot activity for the Lotto XRP can be verified via the XRP Tip Bot Stats page here.

The XRP Tip Bot has empowered teams and individuals to build an ecosystem where brilliant ideas on how to help others can come to fruition and where the sky is the limit. Welcome to the Internet Of Giving.

NOTE: The projects mentioned in this posts have been vetted by the Good Souls Group (*A charity governance group within the XRP Community) and links for you to check on the transparency of each of these initiatives are provided in this post. A great resource for this is the XRP Tip Bot Stats Page created by *@NixerFFM*. Please take care to whom you send your hard-earned XRP

Photo by Perry Grone on Unsplash

There are people, places and stories which are famous and admired by everyone in your country, hometown or even your neighborhood, but you still get the feeling they are so amazing that the whole world should know about them. For me, one of them is the artwork and legacy of Fernando Llort.

Fernando Llort (1949-2018) is often referred to as “El Salvador's national artist”. But what did he do to being handed such a title?

While other artists tend to protect their artistic identity, Fernando Llort decided to share it, not to become the country's most renowned artist but to accomplish his dream of starting a cultural movement that would empower those around him to make a dignified living through art. In other words, he democratized his amazing talent.

Llort started fulfilling his vision when he moved to La Palma, a small town close to the border with Honduras when he was around 23 years old. By starting to teach the people of La Palma how to draw and paint, he single-handedly changed the fate of the small agricultural town and turned it into a bustling arts and tourism destination.

Due to the civil war that El Salvador went through in the 1980's Fernando Llort had to move back to San Salvador, the capital city where he continued building his legacy. This didn't stop the people of La Palma, they continued to thrive and also to spread the movement out to the rest of the country allowing more and more families to find a source of income through art.

Llort's legacy is not only to be found in the vivid colors of his Maya-inspired artwork but also in the lives of every person he taught how to paint. If only we decided to share our talents with others, many more lives could be turned into a life of colors.

Credits: Art work and signature in this post belong to the late Fernando Llort.

I hope you have enjoyed this post. If you didn't know about Fernando Llort and his work before reading these lines, now you do and my goal for this blog post has been achieved. Inspired to bring your favorite stories so the world can know about them? Start a blog right here in Coil!

Welcome to The Blab, as announced, it is a series of interviews where I chase around some of the most renowned XRP experts and advocates to chat about...other stuff!

For the first Blab, I'm interviewing Wietse Wind, who most of us know as an XRPL powerhouse and rock star developer. But we're not here to talk about XRP, are we? (To know more about Wietse's work, I really recommend you to check out this web page with an impressive list of his XRPL projects). Over the next lines we will discover a few unknown aspects of Wietse's life: What were his childhood and student days like? What is some of his best advice to live life? (And remember, also extended content for Coil subscribers).

By the way: Funnily my initials are also are a repeated letter, so we'll go with “WW” for Wietse and “RR” for me, because that's how we roll!

RR: Hey Wietse, welcome to the first edition of The Blab! Let's start as far in the past as your mind can take you. What is your first most vivid memory?

WW: Hey Moncho, thanks!! My first most vivid memory was visiting the town center of Altea in Spain with my family on our holiday.

RR: What were you like as a kid? What did you like to eat? Do for fun?

WW: I was always discovering new things, working in the garden, collecting things, taking things apart (like an old radio). I believe I loved eating home made pizza, and Stroopwafels (treacle-waffle, which is a Dutch delicacy, a candy). Still love to eat them. I used to spend a lot of time playing with my two little sisters, our cats and (red-eared) turtles.

**RR: (Writes down Stroopwafels in his bucket list) Can you describe the neighborhood in Amersfoort you grew up in? How was it like to grow up there?
**WW: We lived in a townhouse near the city. When I was really young I would play outside (with the little sister -who is about my age- of my XRPL Labs colleague Tristan) but as I got a little older I didn’t really enjoy playing with peers living in the same street. Lots of good memories about my room and my family :). Most time I would spend inside or in the garden though, do handicrafts, tinker, either building things out of paper, wood and electronics or taking things apart (radios, computers).

I had my own patch in the garden where I would grow pumpkins, tomatoes, sunflowers, etc. If I would go outside, I would walk around the neighborhood with a modified walkie-talkie to pick up wireless phone calls.

RR: It's awesome how you started building and creating at such a young age. What was you favorite toy or game when you were little?

WW: I mostly played with Lego, and I had a Lego train. I didn’t really like games and still don’t, I never liked playing video games either.

RR: Times have really changed and back in the day we had to wait (sometimes for days) until our favorite TV programs showed according to the TV guide. “Go play outside” and other activities where far more common as there was no such thing as “TV on demand”. Did you have a favorite cartoon that you would anxiously wait for?

WW: We hardly watched TV. My mother is very creative, and would do ceramics/handicrafts/drawing/… with us, which we loved. If the TV was turned on, even when I was really young, I preferred Discovery Channel. Sometimes we would watch a Disney movie (Aladdin, Lion King, …) as a family :)

RR:Who were your heroes or role models when you were a kid?

WW: My parents.

RR: Which was the time when you got in trouble as a kid that you remember the most?

WW: Actually I don’t really think I ever got into big trouble...

**RR: Now moving on to teenage days and adulthood (because unfortunately we all have to grow up at some point, right?)
**

When you were a teenager, what did you do for fun? Did you have a favorite spot to “hang out” in Amersfoort? Does it still exist?

WW: My favorite spot as a teenager was definitely my own room or the shed, either programming, learning about servers, etc. or renovating old-timer four stroke mopeds (Honda C50/SS50/…)

I did visit a pub in the city center on a weekly basis when I was 16~17, with some friends. It doesn’t exist anymore.

I used to hang out in a park with friends from the band I played in. Sun, guitar, wine, the park is still there, close to the city center. It’s still a lovely place. Can’t wait for Arwèn to start walking to take her there.

RR: Sun, a guitar and wine sounds like quite a blast! It sure will be a really special feeling to take Arwèn to the places that bring you such memories.

And speaking of memories, can you tell us what graduating from high-school in the Netherlands was like back then?

WW: I either didn’t show up, didn’t pay attention or just did the bare minimum to pass (a test, school year, exams). I think I was horrible for my teachers. I remember some of them even telling me I disappointed them for doing close to zero. I didn’t even show up for my own graduation, I was so happy high school was over. I did convince myself to enroll in university, but after one month I realized that I wanted to continue full time with my software start-up.

RR: It's incredible how such early life decisions can really define your path in life. And how did you meet your wife?

WW: A friend and colleague of mine and her sister were dating, and we were their chaperones. We went to a place where you’ll normally never find my wife or me: a nightclub. Before I even realized what I was feeling, I managed to set a date for dinner. For four, but my friend and her sister didn’t show up ;)

RR: Very opportune! :). And ever since, you've had the blessing of building together a beautiful family: You have one daughter and a new baby coming soon, congratulations! Can you share with us what is your favorite story about your daughter Arwèn so far?

WW: Thank you!

I really love her reaction to music. She was moving to the beat before she could even stand up. Every evening, before it’s time for bed, we “dance” through the living room. Arwèn kicking her legs to the beat. But: it’s really impossible to come up with just one thing. It is absolutely amazing, every day. All the cliches are true.

RR: Earlier you mentioned you used to play in a band...What type of music do you like to play the most?

WW: Jazz standards, finger picking. But every now and then I plug in my electric guitar (Gibson Les Paul, Fender Strat) for some Jimi Hendrix or blues. I don’t want to bother the neighbors too much, so that’s not happening as often as I would like to. I don’t play as often as I would like to anyway. Time is a problem. Maybe a blues band when I’m grey and old.

RR: Even though I've never learned to play any instrument, I'm fully with you there. I recently came across the cajón and been meaning to get one and learn ever since. Not starting a cold war with the neighbors has been the show stopper for me...

What’s the most unusual but fun experience you’ve ever had?

WW: Skinny dipping on the Arctic Circle (Sweden, road trip when I was around 19).

RR: Yikes, I feel cold just to think about it!

You've also mentioned that as a kid you used to collect things. Can you share with us what was it? Is there anything you still collect?

WW: Not anymore. (Well, XRP?) As a kid I would collect lots of different things: Telephone cards, broken light bulbs…

RR: What’s your definition of success?

WW: Being happy and being able to share happiness.

RR: What’s your best piece of advice for living?

WW: Stop with the hurrying, stop with the eternal quest for more. More “success”, more money, bigger house, fancy car, etc. Take a step back and ask yourself if it brings you more happiness, or if it may even bring you more worries and more stress.

RR: That sure is great advice, Wietse. It reminds me of one of my personal favorite quote, it reads:

The richest man is not he who has the most, but he who needs the least.”
- Unknown

Thank you for sharing such valuable advice and also having shared with us the insight on how your story has unraveled so far. It's been a pleasure to run the first edition of The Blab with you!