Co-founder @Stably_official + @dtrinity_defi | Aspiring matrioshka brain | Ramblings about tech and finance
8.2 kpc from Sgr A*, 20 pc up
Joined June 2013
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Studies show that the top 3 regrets of the elderly are
1. Not having built enough b2b SaaS
2. Not having shitposted enough on X
3. Not being a published author on LinkedIn
On days like today, I’m glad I’m diversified across deUSD, USDX, and xUSD because it allows me to lose money in three different ways.
Not sure what the algorithm is trying to tell me here
@CL207 @growing_daniel
David Zhang (▲) retweeted
📢 IMPORTANT UPDATE FOR SONIC USERS 📢
@StreamDeFi just disclosed significant losses related to its xUSD token's backing 3 hours ago.
While dTRINITY does not have direct exposure to xUSD, our reserve for dUSD on @Sonic contains wstkscUSD from @Trevee_xyz which does have direct exposure. Additionally, Trevee assets currently make up ~70% of supplied collateral in dLEND on Sonic.
The Sonic dUSD reserve currently has ~225K wstkscUSD to back ~211K dUSD in circulation. All other reserve assets like sfrxUSD have been redeemed by users. On dLEND, the following assets from Trevee are supplied as collateral to borrow dUSD:
- 45.36K Pendle PT-wstkscUSD (18DEC2025)
- 173.34K wstkscUSD
- 11.35 wstkscETH
- 1.95 scETH
We have reached out to the Trevee team and are waiting for further updates. In the meantime, all deposits to dLEND on Sonic have been halted, but repaying debt and withdrawing collateral are available. Sonic dUSD redemptions also remain open.
Thanks to dTRINITY's chain-isolated design, dUSD and dLEND on other networks like Fraxtal and Katana are 100% unaffected by this incident on Sonic.
We will continue to provide updates as more details emerge.
>be me
>2037, HP patented “paper”
>drop 5k on "OwnForever 3000"
>box: YOU OWN THIS (TM)
>plug in
>SUB STATUS: BROKEASS
>print one page
>printer: "PAYWALL ENGAGED"
>tiers:
>- $29/mo Black (white DLC)
>- $69/mo Color (VPN ban)
>- $149/mo Glossy + gacha ink
>trial prints 200-page EULA
>line 420: HP can repo your soul
>cheap ink?
>printer dials IRS, streams me as "Toner Traitor"
>cops in magenta vests taze me
>old neighbor laserprints pepes
>HP satellite zaps it
>now $15/mo to view ashes NFT
>my printer wants update
>patch: removed 8.5x11 (pay extra)
>try "fuck you"
>$2 per fuck
>overdraft: -$911
>mfw printer took my house
>mfw it owns me now
Hits different in 2025
piped.video/Yvs7f4UaKLo?si=Lafp…
Women used to write under male pen names to be taken seriously
Now men pose as women online to get any attention at all
Oh how the turntables...
Fool me once shame on you
Fool me twice...
Good thing we had no exposure to Fortress Trust
Nevada regulators just served crypto custodian Fortress Trust with a cease and desist.
And - surprise! - Fortress owes clients $12M in fiat + crypto but only has ~$1M available.
The craziest thing to me out of this article is that the new CEO knew of financial troubles when joining in 2023, but the regulators didn’t step in until late 2025? Why is it only now that they are unable to produce financial statements - shouldn’t they have checked that in 2024?
This is the second major crypto trust failure out of Nevada.
Regulation ≠ safety. If you’re going to use a custodian, you better really know what they’re doing with your assets. You can’t necessarily count on a regulator to do that for you, as we’ve seen time and again over the last decade.
Custodians were necessary in the legacy financial system. You can’t keep thousands of paper dollars, tons of gold bars, or reams of stock certificates safe by yourself.
We now have better technology. You can secure the cryptographically backed hard money that is Bitcoin with a simple app and a thumb drive. It is easier than ever in history to have full control of your money, not trust some black box custodian.
It’s your savings. You care about it more than anyone else. And with the right tools, you can secure it better than anyone else.
The hardware AI playbook
1. Ship a barely useful product
2. Use it to build up a data advantage
3. Iterate faster than your competitors
Tesla perfected this playbook, and now everyone's racing to ship as fast as possible
With this trend I don't see how we don't hit AGI by 2030
Attempting to use Atlas agent mode to run Codex CLI... are these the subagents they're referring to?
Ambition is a repeated cost-benefit choice. It is partly teachable.
First-Principles Model
People pursue high goals when the expected value of control is positive:
EV ≈ (reward size x success probability x personal meaning) - (effort + opportunity cost + risk + delay).
Ambitious people tend to estimate higher payoffs, lower costs, and discount the future less.
Neural Mechanics
Dopamine system (midbrain->striatum): encodes reward prediction errors and energizes effort.
Anterior cingulate cortex: computes whether effort is worth it.
Dorsolateral prefrontal cortex: holds plans and sustains control.
OFC/vmPFC: tracks option values and compares them.
Locus coeruleus–norepinephrine: sets arousal and exploration.
Serotonin: supports patience and long-term valuation.
Stress systems (amygdala/HPA): chronic stress raises perceived effort cost and shortens time horizons.
Why People Differ
Traits: conscientiousness, need for achievement, self-efficacy, lower delay discounting.
Biology: moderate heritability for related traits; small gene effects, many loci.
Learning: early contingencies that link effort to outcomes.
Context: norms, models, opportunity, safety nets, scarcity.
Health: sleep, mood disorders, ADHD, substance use.
Can Ambition Be Taught?
Yes, to a meaningful degree. You can raise the perceived payoff of effort and the capacity to sustain it.
High-Leverage Levers
Increase Instrumentality
Specific, hard goals. Clear paths. Fast feedback and visible scoreboards.
Deliberate practice with coaching. Tighten effort->outcome linkage.
Build Self-Efficacy
Graduated challenges that produce wins. Model peers. Credible encouragement.
Cognitive reappraisal of stress as readiness.
Lower Effort Cost
Sleep 7–9 hours. Regular exercise. Single-task blocks with protected time.
Remove friction: simplify cues, automate routines, reduce distractions.
Mindfulness to cut rumination.
Extend the Time Horizon
Commitment devices and social accountability.
Implementation intentions (“If X, then I do Y”) and the WOOP method (Wish, Outcome, Obstacle, Plan).
Reward progress, not only outcomes.
Align Values
Autonomy, competence, relatedness. Connect goals to identity and meaning.
Remove Blockers
Treat depression or ADHD when present. Reduce chronic scarcity and instability.
Why It Cannot Be Fully Taught
Baseline neurobiology and temperament set bounds.
Structural constraints cap expected payoffs regardless of will.
Risk and time-preference differences persist.
Without value alignment, training yields compliance, not sustained ambition.
Compact Protocol
- Pick one consequential goal. Define weekly deliverables.
- Daily 60–120 minute deep-work block. Same time and place.
- Public scoreboard and weekly review. Increase difficulty 5–15% when targets are hit.
- Use “if-then” plans for the two most common obstacles.
- Maintain sleep and exercise as non-negotiable infrastructure.
That is the shortest path to cultivating ambition while respecting limits.
I was chatting with some friends about whether agency can be learned and developed, so I workshopped it with GPT-5 Pro and largely it comes down to:
- Have a healthy amount of delusional optimism
- Take care of yourself
- Build your identity into someone who is "agentic"
🧵👇
Agency > Intelligence
I had this intuitively wrong for decades, I think due to a pervasive cultural veneration of intelligence, various entertainment/media, obsession with IQ etc. Agency is significantly more powerful and significantly more scarce. Are you hiring for agency? Are we educating for agency? Are you acting as if you had 10X agency?
Grok explanation is ~close:
“Agency, as a personality trait, refers to an individual's capacity to take initiative, make decisions, and exert control over their actions and environment. It’s about being proactive rather than reactive—someone with high agency doesn’t just let life happen to them; they shape it. Think of it as a blend of self-efficacy, determination, and a sense of ownership over one’s path.
People with strong agency tend to set goals and pursue them with confidence, even in the face of obstacles. They’re the type to say, “I’ll figure it out,” and then actually do it. On the flip side, someone low in agency might feel more like a passenger in their own life, waiting for external forces—like luck, other people, or circumstances—to dictate what happens next.
It’s not quite the same as assertiveness or ambition, though it can overlap. Agency is quieter, more internal—it’s the belief that you *can* act, paired with the will to follow through. Psychologists often tie it to concepts like locus of control: high-agency folks lean toward an internal locus, feeling they steer their fate, while low-agency folks might lean external, seeing life as something that happens *to* them.”
TLDR you can just do things
Agency > Intelligence
I had this intuitively wrong for decades, I think due to a pervasive cultural veneration of intelligence, various entertainment/media, obsession with IQ etc. Agency is significantly more powerful and significantly more scarce. Are you hiring for agency? Are we educating for agency? Are you acting as if you had 10X agency?
Grok explanation is ~close:
“Agency, as a personality trait, refers to an individual's capacity to take initiative, make decisions, and exert control over their actions and environment. It’s about being proactive rather than reactive—someone with high agency doesn’t just let life happen to them; they shape it. Think of it as a blend of self-efficacy, determination, and a sense of ownership over one’s path.
People with strong agency tend to set goals and pursue them with confidence, even in the face of obstacles. They’re the type to say, “I’ll figure it out,” and then actually do it. On the flip side, someone low in agency might feel more like a passenger in their own life, waiting for external forces—like luck, other people, or circumstances—to dictate what happens next.
It’s not quite the same as assertiveness or ambition, though it can overlap. Agency is quieter, more internal—it’s the belief that you *can* act, paired with the will to follow through. Psychologists often tie it to concepts like locus of control: high-agency folks lean toward an internal locus, feeling they steer their fate, while low-agency folks might lean external, seeing life as something that happens *to* them.”
