Wizard Wednesday Recap, 2024-05-01
After the show's introductions, Bearsnake says that he feels like he's been getting a lot done.
Token Gators
Elf agrees, saying that there's so much going on, but it's literally impossible to talk about right now. Bear echoes, "Literally." Elf asks everyone if they've been seeing "these gator hats all over Twitter."
Everyone seems to have seen them, but no one knows what they're about. Dotta mentions that they're from a project called "Token Gators," noting that Adam Hollander got a Gator hat for his Shadow Hat.
Cult Questions
The Number of Sacred Flames In the Runiverse
Then, Elf answers Cult Questions, starting with one from community member Jmander concerning the number of Sacred Flames in Runiverse Lore. Elf says this is a good question that drives a lot of the story in the comic and show script. Of the Sacred Flame, Elf says that it seems to burn eternally without any fuel source. He says he also believes it has powers beyond just the transmogrification of Wizards. The comic writer Joe, and Elf himself, have been exploring its origin in their respective writings. Elf says that he won't give a concrete answer, but he thinks that "multiplying" the Sacred Flame comes at a great cost.
First Wizard to Sail Around the World
Magus Wazir then asks who the first Wizard to sail around the world was. Community member Noah answers "Jimmy," but Elf says he won't accept that until it's written in the Book of Lore or Wizzypedia.
Runiverse Land Masses
Elf answers a question about the formation of the Runiverse's land masses, and if they were formed by plate tectonics or Magic. He says the Singularity was the primary catalyst for the Runic Supercontinent, but there are still of natural geographical forces (and Magic) at play.
The Book of Lore Updates
Dotta is delegated a question about the Book of Lore, and if there are plans for "subpages" that can reference other Characters. He says there are designs for a Book of Lore V2 "in the laboratory." He says there are ideas for better organization, drawing comparisons to GitBook. Bear asks Dotta how many pages he's making right now, saying that he feels like Dotta is working on around 7 new "arms" of the website.
Dotta says that sounds about right, but he doesn't want to put a deadline on himself. He says they need to be sure the brand is top-shelf. Dotta says that it came to the team's attention that there is a shortcoming in coverage for some of the Forgotten Runes flagship products, like the comic book and the TV show. He says they are working with a new group to help see those blind spots and solidify the branding.
ISP Interlude
Then, after some turbulence on the past few Wizard Wednesday Spaces, Elf says he feels he has the best ISP and usually has a solid connection, which is why he hosts the Space most often. He says he thinks this comes down to his ISP's name: Quantum Fiber.
Possums In the Runiverse
Sweetbread then asks when Elf is going to add Possums to the Runiverse. He says Sweetbread has no idea how badly he wants to do a private, low count collection of pixel possums.
Runiverse Map Updates
Elf then speaks about his update to the Runiverse map, noting that he has had to rework the landmass from the map to fit on a sphere. He also says that he has been speaking with Tadmajor about starting a new initiative to add community locations to the updated map. Dotta mentions the team's ideation on a "Book of Maps" for around a year now. He says it's difficult to figure out a user interface for it that feels collaborative, crypto native, useful, spam resistant, etc. He says it's a hard problem that will take time to figure out.
Doxxing
Entropy then joins the space, and Elf notes next Wizard Wednesday, he may turn on the live video feed, which was a suggestion from Entropy. Elf jokes it will be Dotta's first face reveal. He notes a recent tweet from Garga suggestion that founders who are anon should stay anon.
Dotta says that he thinks he will be doxxed before too long between Elf and Bearsnake, saying "it's not that hard to track down. It's still just easier this way." Dotta laughs about having to ask Entropy for his real name for paperwork after a few weeks of being on the team.
House of Wizard DAO Updates
Acideater joins the conversation with updates from the House of Wizards DAO:
They have been brainstorming a new proposal process to optimize voting and proposal windows, and a feedback survey will be created in May.
Bitcoin & the Market
The team then speaks briefly about the market-wide drawdown and the adage to "sell in May and walk away." Dotta says the macro climate is interesting because another "bank bailout" is basically happening with the buying back of treasuries over the next couple of months. Dotta says this is a "bailout that they won't call a bailout" but he says it will help relieve some pressures that the banking system has. He notes that the FDIC seized First Republic Bank.
"The outcome is, 'buy Bitcoin'."
Dotta says, "the reasons for why Bitcoin was invented, namely the debasement of the US dollar, are worse than ever... all the ways the federal government is overspending beyond its budget...all the reasons why we need Bitcoin are stronger than ever."
Gold
Elf asks if anyone has ever looked at a bar of gold in real life. He says:
"It is gorgeous. I can see why all of humanity across the world has loved this stuff. It's just beautiful. It's captivating. It's enchanting. ‘Dragon sickness’ is a real thing."
That being said, Elf says that he thinks that buying gold is ridiculous and the only way he sees it becomes super valuable is if the world reaches a situation where all fiat is dead and Bitcoin is gone because the Internet is gone.
Dotta recommends a documentary from Raoul Pal's Real Vision called Gold: Man's 6,000 Year Obsession. He says watching it, the value of Bitcoin deeply clicked with him. Like gold, everyone who has Bitcoin, spent money/energy to get it. The value is in the energy used to mine it.
Cult Content
Then to round out the show, the team reviews the Cult Content Chronicle—art from the past week within the Forgotten Runes community aggregated weekly by Tania del Rio.