Glad to see that you’ve managed to dodge a bullet. That’s a big quake.

Okay, so check this out—if you own bitcoin, you need a home for the keys that feels like a vault. Wow! Many people think a phone app is enough. Really? No. A hardware wallet gives you a physical boundary between your private keys and the internet, and that boundary is everything.

Cold storage isn’t mystical. It’s simple in concept. But messy in practice. Short of keeping a paper seed under your mattress (please don’t), there are practical choices that balance convenience, security, and long-term durability. My instinct says: treat your seed like a house key. Guard it. Make backups. Test recovery. Repeat. Something felt off about the casual “I’ll just screenshot it” crowd—so here’s a clearer, more usable view.

Hardware wallets store private keys offline. They sign transactions without exposing keys to your computer. That’s the core defense. On one hand, you reduce attack surface massively. On the other hand, you introduce a new set of problems: device tampering, supply-chain attacks, user mistakes. I’m biased, but those risks are manageable if you follow a few rules and use good tools.

How to think about cold storage like a pro

Short list first. Seriously?

– Use a reputable hardware wallet from a known vendor.

– Generate the seed on-device in an air-gapped state when possible.

– Protect the seed with a metal backup and a passphrase if you want a higher-security posture.

There are nuances. For example, a single-device seed on a single piece of paper is fine for small amounts. For long-term holdings or larger values, consider multisig across multiple devices and locations. Multisig forces an attacker to compromise several independent components before funds can move—very effective, though more complex to set up and manage. Initially I thought multisig was overkill, but after seeing a few real theft attempts it earned its place in my playbook.

Another important piece: supply-chain tampering. Buy hardware directly from reputable sellers or the manufacturer’s official channels—never a random third-party reseller on a marketplace. If in doubt, check the vendor’s verification procedures and firmware signing. If you want to learn about an official source for setup and downloads, check this link—it’s the resource I used for initial setup: https://sites.google.com/trezorsuite.cfd/trezor-official/. (Yes, always verify URLs carefully. Somethin’ like that can save you a headache.)

Air-gapped setups reduce risk further. Use a device that supports offline transaction signing and PSBT workflows. Move the signed transaction to an internet-connected machine using a USB stick or QR code. It adds steps. But those steps drastically cut down on malware threats. I’m not 100% sure every user needs this, though—so choose based on threat model.

Backups: metal beats paper

Paper rots. Fires happen. Coffee spills. Pets chew stuff. Long sentence incoming: invest in a stamped stainless-steel backup or a dedicated metal seed storage product that resists corrosion, fire, and physical wear, because losing your seed is worse than a slow crypto market drop, and there’s no password reset for private keys.

For redundancy, store backups in geographically separated secure locations—home safe plus a safety deposit box, for instance. On one hand, you want easy access when needed. Though actually, on the other hand, you don’t want the backup so accessible that a casual visitor can take it. Balance is key.

Consider splitting the seed using Shamir Backup or manual sharding. That way, no single backup reveals the full secret. It raises complexity and the chance of human error, so document the recovery process for trusted heirs or an executor if you want inheritance to actually work when you’re gone. This part bugs me—most people overlook succession planning until it’s too late.

Passphrases, PINs, and human weakness

PINs protect devices, but they can be brute-forced if the attacker has the device and nothing else. A passphrase adds a second-factor-like layer: it creates a new wallet derived from the same seed, but only someone who knows the passphrase can access those funds. If you use passphrases, record how they’re formatted—capitalization, spaces, punctuation—because a small typo during recovery is fatal.

However, passphrases introduce recovery headaches. If you forget a passphrase, the coins are gone. So weigh convenience versus paranoia. I’ll be honest: I use a strong passphrase for a portion of my holdings and leave other funds without one for recoverability. It’s a compromise; your mileage may vary.

Final thought—no single setup fits everyone. If you’re hodling a small amount for convenience, keep it simple but sensible. If you’re securing enough bitcoin to change your life, invest in education, redundancy, and practice recoveries. Test your recovery process on a dummy small wallet. Seriously: do a dry run. It saves tears later.

There’s more to say—always more—but start with these basics. Protect the keys. Backup the seed on metal. Consider multisig for serious amounts. And double-check every URL before you click. Stay careful out there…

I’m glad it wasn’t as bad as it could of been. My Japanese nurse friend who calls me every week  never told me what tsunami meant. She was born and raised in Japan but is American now so only speaks English here in the states. She told me Japan was mad at Trump about the tarriffs. Lol I told her he probably mentioned everyone so he couldn’t be accused of playing favorites. I hope they got resolved.

We were just talking about earthquakes this last week. She’s worried about her brother who lives next to the ocean. She said a meteorologist has forecast a mega quake that could be a 10 or so but there are many like that all over. I told her we have two big ones that could go anytime here in Calif. On land  and sea but the one at sea the Cascade fault could cause a tsunami that can reach ten miles in all along the Pacific coast. Were safe from that but the San Andreas inland, that could rearrange the map of the state. It’s got no warning system like the ones in the ocean.

A remarkable achievement. Perhaps the sun will give us a major EMF event and zap Starlink out of the skies.

Now an hour and a half into our Tsunami arrival and several small waves… 1 to 2 feet… have been observed around Hawaii shores & harbors.  Largest was at Haleiwa harbor on Oahu north shore, recorded a 3 ft. rise.  When the ocean receded it emptied the harbor and left the moored fishing boats sitting on the bottom for awhile.  That was logged at 8 feet, crest to trough.  We are not in the clear yet, as more waves will be following.  But so far no reports of major damage. In Hilo, the parking lot at Coconut Island was seen on camera to be flooding.

I CAN say, without a doubt, “I am a Tsunami survivor!”  (again)

That was a strong quake, updated to 8.8. I’m glad everyone is safe for now.  Malama pono

The Silver Streak
https://www.railpictures.net/photo/884467/

I am safe at home.  300 ft. elevation, 2.2miles inland.  Traffic was gridlocked everywhere earlier, but now shorelines are empty.  No traffic in Waikiki.  Vertical evacuation above 4th floor on concrete hi rise buildings.   Downtown flood zone in Hilo is empty, hams report.

Earlier I gassed up cans and both vehicles at first EQ notice, so avoided the rush.  Civil defense sirens going off every half hour.  Emergency alerts coming in to phones every few minutes.   We await the first wave just minutes from now.  I expect there will be some shoreline damage.  Will report later as can.  Aloha from Hawaii.

Their leaders are so arrogant and incompetent and can’t differ from priority and reliability  vs ideology they’re driving businesses away, particularly energy where mid east may be looking for other customers.

7 For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. And there will be famines, pestilences, and earthquakes in various places. 8 All these are the beginning of sorrows.

I was just thinking about how these electric scooters that can go 20 mph stand up or sit down type and now they have helmets that light up and kids can put emoji figures and words in different colors on line and even tracking. They’d be good to have for kids even adults near the coast to get past traffic in case of a tsunami warning or other emergencies instead of waiting for cars stuck in traffic. The video of Honolulu is so congested  the traffic was at stand still. Same happened in Japan before. I don’t know why they don’t put patrol cars out there immediately to keep traffic moving at least up to a point they have to evacuate for their kwn safety. Should have sensors out there to tell when it’s coming and how soon.

Magnitude 8.8 Earthquake Sets Off Tsunami Alerts Across The Pacific | Weather.com https://share.google/uqkkJXCb3gkaJvFTI

8,8 earthquake in Pacific. Tsunami warning.

I looked up Hulk Hogan, he was against the jab. I’m sure he was silent after that because of the reaction, especially males who apparently drank the Cool Aid.  I wasn’t going to waste my energy saying anything to these idiots I think they were jealous and another thing to complain about. Same with Eric Clapton, he announced he who already has neuropathy had very bad reaction to it and for a time was really suffering. Instead of concern or compassion the same kinda idiots attacked him too. Maybe there’s something in this depopulation. They can’t even learn from others. It’s too easy to get them to follow. Same kind of attitude as  pro vax without question or research, pro until something happens. But in their case just to them.

As far as Elon, yes and no.  I think he is not the culprit. Just like any other tool, theres always those who will misuse it for the wrong reasons

Elon has done more impressive things than any billionaire on earth. You’re off in the woods again, the trail is over here.

Surprised the dollar is still positive on the day.

Trade (im)balance was a huge beat. Expectations were for $99 billion, came in at $86 Billion. Tariffs in action.

Consumer confidence jumped a bit as well. JOLTS showed more jobs available than expected.

Trump is righting the ship. If he can get rates down a couple percent from here this economy will be screaming.

Housing is a weak spot. Prices are falling. He needs to get gas prices to come down more as well.

PM’s and shares hopefully decoupling from the SM.

Buygold I agree.

Ipso re Are you saying that Israel is entitled to the land in Gaza?

No, not me.   It didn’t stop with Goland Heights and it’s not stopping now.

I guess that’s one way to look at it. “Elon” At least he’s done some positive things as well!

Cheers

I’m not sure what your point is? Are you saying that Israel is entitled to the land in Gaza?

Powell may or may not cut. Silver may hit $37; it’s just about there so that’s not a stretch.

I’m betting that the bullish move in the metals and shares will continue after this little manufactured pause. The overbought condition has been relieved.

Place your bets. 🙂

… you will lose control/ownership …

You will own nothing and be miserable.

This is what ‘they’ want to foist on you.

Have a nice day

I had a battle with AI yesterday. It lost the battle. It was quite easy. Reason being it and not its fault per day, it realizes it’s restricted to a set of data and limited so can’t act on its own accord to check something or do something unless it’s programed to do so.

After all, he has set up the satellite surveillance system that will control the world when they save us all with the Digital Currency, Facial Recognition, and Surveillance system.

Remember Elon, when you point one finger at someone else, three fingers are pointing back at you!

Jimmy Describes His HARROWING Near Mid-Air Collision On Southwest Airlines!

Profits are getting squeezed so they have to cut back somewhere.

Where’s the AI?

Chuckle

Someone may have been putting words in Trump’s mouth or hope to think so. I remember he distinctly was trying to work with neighboring countries to rebuild Gaza for the Palestinians. I don’t know how that would work with their Israel neighbors. Either that or evacuate them bring them to Europe and  radiate the land then no one can have it.