Joe Verducci 🐀

2026: the year of the patriot

@reddit_lies One of my favorite Cold War stories. The Soviets announced those MiG-25 time-to-climb world records thinking they were impossible to realistically achieve at the time. youtu.be/RmlWmDokzGg?si…

During the height of the Cold War the US caught wind of a new high-performance jet being built by the soviets: The MiG-25 "Foxbat" Reconnaissance photos showed the aircraft was huge, built for speed with massive engines and a large wingspan. On the 50th Anniversary of the October Revolution in 1967, the Soviets proudly showed off their new jet, soon after the Foxbat began crushing altitude and speed records and was even seen operating in theater where it put the US's F-4 Phantom to shame. Western intelligence was terrified, with the pieces of information they had they could only conclude the Jet was impossibly light, maybe even built out of titanium, was equipped with a powerful radar, and might even be capable of intercepting the legendary SR-71. In response, the US looked at its in-development fighter, and overengineered the daylights out of it. Faster speeds, higher altitudes, and a more powerful radar were all added as requirements for the new aircraft. The result was the F-15, which might even have a chance of holding a candle to the Foxbat, even if it only hit Mach 2.5 instead of Mach 3. In 1976, a pilot of a Foxbat named Viktor Belenko defected to the US with his aircraft. Once it landed America reverse engineered the plane and realized that the Soviets had been blustering all along. All along the Soviets had been lying. The Foxbat was crudely built out of stainless steel with outdated technology inside, the computer still used vacuum tubes, it had terrible range, it could barely turn at high speeds, and if it actually tried to sustain Mach 3 the engines would tear themselves apart. In the 90s when US F-15s went up against MiG-25s, the F-15 easily bested them. To this day the F-15 has downed over 100 planes and has never taken an L during combat. The F-15 is a workhorse of the US military, and remains insanely capable even in the era of 5th and 6th generation fighters. Arrogant communist bluster was turned into reality by the sheer willpower of American engineers, because nothing motivates America more than being in second place. In summary: Do it, China. I dare you.

@Architectolder Unintentionally came across the Borghese Gallery when I was in Rome last year. A happy accident.

Borghese Gallery in Rome. At least once in your life you should visit just to see the possibilities. When marble came to life.

To conclude: A life spent hiding from pain is a life of cowardice A life spent embracing trials through a loving spirit is the path to greatness Dostoevsky urges you: Reject pleasure, utopia, and comfort — become great-souled through your pain

26-year-old Coast Guard rescue swimmer Scott Ruskan saved 165 lives during the Texas flash floods. A former KPMG accountant, he coordinated Blackhawks and MH-65s to reach survivors and get them to safety.

“There is no use in worrying about shells if you can’t alter things. Just ask God to help you and accept it. Men who worry destroy their peace of mind without doing any good.”

Never let your inability to do everything undermine your determination to do something. Greatness lies in the doing not the doubting.

@WarMonitorClips youtu.be/HlWcz1aFds0?si…

The Battle of the Westerplatte, first combat between German and Polish forces on September 1st, 1939 🔥

Be back soon

@WatcherGuru Financial advice, brought to you by this guy nypost.com/2022/10/27/jim…

Jim Cramer says #Binance has "no real legitimacy after what happened at FTX."

BREAKING‼️ Binance auditor deletes the "Proof of Reserves" assessment from its website and pauses ALL work with crypto clients - including CryptoCom and KuCoin - Coindesk 🤔

@CryptoUB Genuinely curious, why does everyone hone in on the Dem donor aspect and omit that he donated ~the same amount to R’s anonymously (to avoid the backlash)? Is this not verifiable or is it just because it makes a less attractive headline? washingtonpost.com/opinions/2022/…

Front page of the New York Post today🤣

@TheAvatarChris @salubrious55 @WhaleChart If centralized exchanges disappear, crypto will just go back to being purely P2P as Bitcoin was in the early days. Today’s crypto investors get fixated on getting rich quick and forget the original purpose: decentralized payment protocols that are not reliant on any government.

@salubrious55 @JoeVerducci @WhaleChart The same as money just sitting in your wallet. When you want to buy something you spend it by sending it to others. You do make a fair point about the necessity of exchanges for trade, but they should not be used like banks to keep the majority of your crypto.

JUST IN: FTX founder SBF says 'I hope I haven't killed crypto'.

@BawdyAnarchist_ @WhaleChart I agree. I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t worried hearing the FUD surrounding Binance’s Proof of Reserves & the corresponding bank run, but things seem to be holding for now. If Binance collapses so soon after FTX, that’d be extremely concerning…

@JoeVerducci @WhaleChart It's not the death knell for crypto. But we have yet to see how bad this contagion really is. In terms of price? Relatively speaking, yeah this could be bad. Combined with the macro picture, could potentially mean years before a new BTC or TOTAL all time high.

@BawdyAnarchist_ @WhaleChart Comparatively speaking, the crypto “industry” was in a much more vulnerable state during Mt. Gox’s reign. Now we have many more popular options for centralized exchanges, and total market cap is exponentially higher ($12b vs ~$900b). It’ll take a lot more than an SBF-level f-up.

@JoeVerducci @WhaleChart Two very different moments in time, adoption, technology, scale, magnitude, politics, and everything else regarding Bitcoin and the world. FTX absolutely dwarfs Gox, at a critical moment when the world was watching, and many were playing along.

@TheAvatarChris @WhaleChart While I completely agree that people should have the foresight to take their decentralized assets off of centralized platforms (at least for long term holds), fraudsters like SBF & Do Kwon should absolutely still be held accountable.

@JoeVerducci @WhaleChart If people would stop using crypto exchanges like a bank and just get a cold storage wallet this kind of thing wouldn't happen. Not your keys, not your Crypto.

@TheOnion “Dave, what should I say? 🥺”

"Please, for the love of all that is holy, consider me clever and interesting." bit.ly/3FSBY5w

@Bitboy_Crypto @zachxbt This you, bro?

Skeptics will crucify me for what I’m about to say. I don’t care. PLEASE comment, screenshot, meme IT, make fun of me, tag @zachxbt. Tag the Fatman guy. This WILL become public: The #BitSquad and my bill singlehandedly saved crypto and brought down FTX. 1/2