TECH & COMMS: Activity Log
From 2026.01.08 Meeting: Team Notes and Research Leads
Tech & Comms
What Already Exists
o Signal Chat Program
Discussion point: SimpleX is a better messenger than Signal for privacy, I still use both.
o Proton (mail, VPN)
o Brave browser
o Home nodes
o FOSS (Fully Open Source Software)
o Linux; Ubuntu
o Libre Office Suite
o Mesh / Lora / Reticulum
o Nostr
Dreams of What Could Be
o Local community radio, less trouble than HAM radio. Like Swannanoa, NC community just implemented
o Community servers and message boards
o Meshtastic – local mesh networks
o Remedial training & assistance
Risks on the Horizon
o State pressure on private communications (telegram founder arrested)
o Exchange (Tornado cash founder arrested; github repo taken down)
o AI investments ready to crash
o Huge water and electricity suck paid for by neighbors not AI companies
One Small Next Step
o Connect with Mesh Community
o Install a VPN
̶A̶I̶ ̶K̶i̶p̶:̶ ̶I̶ ̶k̶n̶o̶w̶ ̶t̶h̶e̶ ̶g̶u̶y̶s̶ ̶w̶h̶o̶ ̶s̶e̶t̶ ̶t̶h̶i̶s̶ ̶u̶p̶ ̶f̶r̶o̶m̶ ̶N̶o̶s̶t̶r̶!̶ ̶I̶ ̶h̶a̶v̶e̶ ̶r̶e̶a̶c̶h̶e̶d̶ ̶o̶u̶t̶ ̶t̶o̶ ̶t̶h̶e̶m̶ ̶a̶b̶o̶u̶t̶ ̶t̶h̶e̶ ̶p̶o̶s̶s̶i̶b̶i̶l̶i̶t̶y̶ ̶o̶f̶ ̶s̶e̶t̶t̶i̶n̶g̶ ̶u̶p̶ ̶s̶o̶m̶e̶t̶h̶i̶n̶g̶ ̶s̶i̶m̶i̶l̶a̶r̶ ̶h̶e̶r̶e̶ ̶i̶n̶ ̶S̶t̶a̶u̶n̶t̶o̶n̶ ̶t̶o̶ ̶c̶o̶n̶n̶e̶c̶t̶ ̶u̶s̶ ̶w̶i̶t̶h̶ ̶t̶h̶e̶ ̶M̶e̶s̶h̶ ̶C̶o̶m̶m̶u̶n̶i̶t̶y̶.̶ (Kip: I spoke with him 2026/01/14)
AI All: The Bitcoin Veterans set up the Burnsville, NC community radio after the storms in 2024. This is what was mentioned in the dreams section about Swannanoa, NC. It is a meshtastic set up. The same guy who coordinated that effort, Gary, has offered to come down to help us set up the initial nodes and do an education session for interested parties if we buy the radios from him. Currently the 10-pack bundle is $465.85 from his Freedom Tech. We need to see how many in our group want individual radios, and raise the funds to pay for this effort.
I've gone ahead and made the initial purchase of a 10-pack bundle so that I could arrange for Gary to come down and do an education session for Meshtastic in Staunton. I've set it up in our meetup group and on event brite here: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/meshtastic-local-radio-setup-for-staunton-tickets-1982463966089
AI Kip: I will create some fundraising portals for the Queen City Sovereignty Salon. As creating a meshtastic network in the City would also benefit first responders and other City players, I am going to inquire about possible grants or public funding. (Update 2/11/26: I still have not done this as I do not want to seem pushy about money requests, but we will be accepting community contributions later in 2026 to support token printing and event costs.)