Tonight, my husband Scott and I went to Steak ’n Shake after our Bitcoin meetup, where we had a robust discussion about businesses accepting Bitcoin as a currency—a method of payment. We walked in with excitement, ready to try their Lightning payment option. No one greeted us—just a sign pointing us to a kiosk. Fine, we weren’t deterred. We followed the instructions, carefully placed our order, and even snapped a photo as we gleefully paid with Bitcoin. We filled our own drinks and sat down, noticing the table next to us piled with dirty dishes. The floor was dirty and slightly sticky. Behind the counter, one lonely woman was cooking ten burgers at a time. She moved slower than a sloth and was clearly not well. Twenty-five long minutes later—without a single employee ever coming out of the kitchen—we started to get antsy. I almost walked out and counted it a total loss. Finally, our name was lazily and quietly called. Cold burgers. Stale fries. It’s an understatement to say I won’t be going back, no matter what signs they put up about accepting Bitcoin or beef tallow fries. The bottom line: while we look forward to the day Bitcoin is used widely as a currency, right now it too often feels like a marketing gimmick—when what businesses really need to work on is the customer experience. Technology is only as strong as the customer experience it supports. image
✨ Orange Hatter Reading Club kicked off again last night after our summer break! 💓 It was such a joy reconnecting with familiar faces and welcoming new ones. We spent time catching up on each other’s lives before diving into Chapters 1 & 2 of The Great Harvest by Adam Livingston. Our conversation went deep. One highlight was Livingston’s point about the “dissemination” of jobs and careers—how something once unique and abstract gets broken down into repeatable and reproducible tasks easily performed by AI. From there, our lively discussion asked: ⁉️ Is it necessarily bad if the rote parts of a job can be replaced by robots? ⁉️ Are teachers essential for learning, or can technology fill that role? As always, the dialogue was robust yet respectful. We challenged each other—and ourselves—and everyone walked away with new perspectives. If thoughtful conversation and community sound like your kind of evening, we’d love for you to join us! 📚 👉 OrangeHatter.com/reading-club
I didn’t grow up with gentle parenting. So I had to figure it out from scratch. That’s why I wrote the book Parenting Forward—for every parent trying to break the cycle without a blueprint. I’ve been editing the old-school way—pages printed, chapters laid out all over the table, pen in hand. It’s messy and slow and exactly how I need to do this part. The book is almost done. And soon, I’ll be 💥 looking for beta readers. If you're a parent who’s doing the hard, quiet work of healing while raising little ones—you’re exactly who I had in mind. Stay tuned. 💛 (And if you're already raising your hand to be an early reader—drop a comment or send me a message. I’d love that.)
💛 Character + Bitcoin → Better World Before you orange-pill your kid, steel their spine. Because the moment you tell them about Bitcoin, you set them apart. That’s the message I had the honor of sharing this week at Bitcoin Alaska—a gathering of minds and hearts that left me deeply inspired and incredibly grateful. Many Bitcoiners feel the urgency to teach kids about Bitcoin by helping them set up a wallet and send their first sats. But I believe character is the first hardware wallet we should set up for our kids—because it’s cold storage for courage, kindness, honesty, and grit. ✨ With strong character, kids can resist social hacking, get-rich-quick schemes, and conformity pressure. ✨ With a foundation of inner strength, when our kids finally hold Bitcoin, they won’t use it to run away from the world—they’ll use it to build something better. Because fiat may be broken. And Bitcoin may be better. But it’s still just a tool. And 💡 every tool reflects the hand that holds it. 🧡 Let’s raise kids who not only understand the power of Bitcoin, but are also ready to use it with wisdom and virtue. The Bitcoin Alaska conference was truly one of a kind. Not only did Bitcoiners come together to share our passion for freedom tech—but we did it while surrounded by breathtaking wild Alaska! We saw 🌊 Glaciers and waterfalls, 🐋 Whales, seals, and bald eagles in their natural habitat, and ate 🍽️ Salmon… fresh out of the water and onto our plates! 🛶 And we had the profound privilege of learning about the culture of the Indigenous Tlingit people—even rowing together in one of their traditional canoes. What an incredible privilege to have been part of this event! Huge thanks to the amazing organizers and volunteers of the Bitcoin Alaska team—you created something truly unforgettable!