I attended the first of what I hope will be many bitcoin meetups at the Melville Deli Friday night. I first visited the deli back in September of last year. I posted about it here. Since then I have kept in touch with @Simaan, who is a great guy and a very committed bitcoiner. His deli is the only business on Long Island that I know of that accepts bitcoin.
I don’t get out much. Most bitcoiners I know are the people I talk to every day here on SN. I have made three or four pilgrimages to PubKey, but that’s about it when it comes to interacting with real, live bitcoiners in meat world. So when I found out that Simon was holding his first meetup at the deli, I was excited. I had an even better time than I expected.
Simon hosted the meetup at the deli after hours. He provided all the food and drink at no cost. He is a very generous guy, but I plan to try to convince him to accept some sats for future events. There were tables and chairs set up in the back, which provided plenty of space for the dozen or so people who attended.
The structure was informal, but worked very well. Simon had everyone introduce themselves and describe their connection to bitcoin. This inspired some great conversation. Some attendees had traveled 50 miles to attend. There were newbies, two non-bitcoiners who wanted to learn, and a smattering of interesting bitcoin characters.
One guy described himself as a full-time bitcoin evangelist. He wore a “WTF? 1971” T shirt, which was the perfect prop for him to launch into an articulate explanation of money as it relates to the “Nixon Shock.” I am a little hard of hearing, so when he introduced himself I missed some of it. I said “I’m sorry, what did you say your name was?” Without skipping a beat he smirked and said “nice try, fed.” It warmed my heart.
Peg from Rockaway, a retired New York City public school teacher, was wearing a New York Bitcoin T shirt and orange sneakers. She first discovered bitcoin when her son was buying drugs off of Silk Road. She often led the conversation and showed herself to be a personable, natural advocate.
Other highlights:
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During a discussion about money, a wampum bracelet was passed around the room.
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Simon gave a brief proof of work speech using the preparation of a deli sandwich as an example.
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Simon regaled us with a cautionary tale about mining. A few years back he and his partners set up an operation in an impoverished Pennsylvania town with cheap electricity. Although they were successful, they also managed to cause a fire that burned down their facility and knocked out the town’s electric service.
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A couple drove in from Queens. The woman had connections to Kazakhstan and China. She discovered bitcoin through miners who wanted her to set up an operation in Kazakhstan. Her fiance was a New York firmware engineer.
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There was a couple who owned a local cigar factory. They were no coiners who passed out cigars to promote their business. I tried to convince them to accept bitcoin. I’ll keep you posted on any orange pilling success.
My observations
I really enjoy these in person meetups. A few of the newbies were dabbling in shitcoins, as many of us have in the past. It’s less comfortable giving someone a brusk “shitcoiner” dismissal in person than on a computer screen, so you rely on really explaining why bitcoin is different. I believe those conversations were almost as valuable to me as to the soon to be ex-shitcoiner.
I also discovered that not everyone shares my desire to actually spend bitcoin. I started out spouting about a circular economy, but it quickly became evident that just about everyone thought I was nuts to want to part with my precious bitcoin. I detected this same sense during my few visits to PubKey. No one changed my opinion, but it was good to get a different point of view.
Conclusion
I encourage everyone to find a local meetup. It’s fun, and you might just learn a few things you won’t find on Stacker News. With the excitement being generated by this bull market, they seem to be popping up everywhere.
For anyone in the New York area, I would highly recommend attending the next meetup at the Melville Deli. Here is the contact information:
The Melville Deli
90 Broadhollow Road
Melville, New York 11747
(631) 351-9338
https://melvilledeli.org/