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@ c8383d81:f9139549
2025-02-05 13:06:05
**My own stats on what I’ve done over the weekend:**
- Spoke to +100 developers, it was great seeing a couple of familiar Flemish faces and meeting some new ones but overall the crowd was extremely diverse.
- Ended up doing a short interview promoting the protocol and ended up going to 0 talks.
- Tried to evangelize by going booth by booth to distribute a Nostr flyer to other FOSDEM projects, with the hope that they would broadcast the info towards their SOME person to add Nostr on their list or to build out a library for the languages that were present ( This was a fairly slow approach )
- Kept it to Nostr protocol 95% of the time, the Bitcoin narrative is not always a good time to push and as a side note I’ve met more Monero users than in the last 5 years.
- Was able to convince some engineers to look into the #soveng endeavor.
**Small overview from the most common questions:**
- They have heard about Nostr but are not sure of the details. ( mostly through the bitcoin community )
- What is the difference with ActivityPub, Mastodon, Fediverse ?
- IOT developers, so questions regarding MQTT & Meshtastic integrations ?
- Current state of MLS on Nostr ?
- What are the current biggest clients / apps build on Nostr ?
- Will jack still give a talk ?
**Things we could improve:**
- Bring more stickers like loads more,
- Bring T-shirts, Pins… could be a good way to fund these adventures instead of raising funds.
( Most projects where selling something to help raise funds for projects )
- Almost no onboarding / client installs.
- Compared to the Nostr booth at BTC Amsterdam not a single person asked if they could charge their phone.
**Personal Note:**
The last time I visited was roughly 13 years ago and me being a little more seasoned I just loved the fact that I was able to pay some support to the open source projects I’ve been using for years ( homebrew, modzilla, Free BSD,.. ) and see the amazing diverse crowd that is the open source Movement 🧡
**Al final shoutout to our great pirate crew 🏴☠️:**
The Dutch Guard ( nostr:npub1qe3e5wrvnsgpggtkytxteaqfprz0rgxr8c3l34kk3a9t7e2l3acslezefe & nostr:npub1l77twp5l02jadkcjn6eeulv2j7y5vmf9tf3hhtq7h7rp0vzhgpzqz0swft ) and a adrenaline fueled nostr:npub1t6jxfqz9hv0lygn9thwndekuahwyxkgvycyscjrtauuw73gd5k7sqvksrw , nostr:npub1rfw075gc6pc693w5v568xw4mnu7umlzpkfxmqye0cgxm7qw8tauqfck3t8 and nostr:npub1r30l8j4vmppvq8w23umcyvd3vct4zmfpfkn4c7h2h057rmlfcrmq9xt9ma amazing finally meeting you IRL after close to 2 years since the Yakihonne hackathon 😀
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@ dd1f9d50:06113a21
2025-02-05 01:48:55
#### **(Because Most People Don’t Understand Money)**
#### The requisite knowledge needed to know whether $100 or $100,000 per Bitcoin is relatively speaking “a lot,” is what value means. One way to measure value is through a universal yardstick we call “Money.” The question of “What is money?” is perhaps one of the most overlooked and under answered in our day and age. There is even an entire podcast dedicated to that question with the eponymous title, hosted by Robert Breedlove. That podcast often delves into the more philosophical underpinnings whereas I hope to approach this with a more practical answer.
**Money is a technology.**
Money is the technology with which we interact with one another to reorganize goods and services to the place and time they are best suited. Most money of the past has been tangible (though not a requisite feature), scarce, recognizable (read: verifiable), durable, portable, and divisible. These features one might call the “Attributes of Money.” These attributes are absolutely essential for a money to maintain its status as a money. (Those of you who understand the U.S. Dollar system maybe scratching your heads right now but, believe me, I will address that elephant in due time.) These attributes, you may notice, are not a yes or no but more of a gradient. A money can be MORE portable than another yet, less durable. One more divisible but not scarce whatsoever. The point being they must have, in some capacity, these attributes or they simply aren’t money.
**One of These Things is Not Like the Other**
| | **Bitcoin** | **Gold** | **Dollars** |
|-----------------|:----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------:|:------------------------------------------------------------------:|:--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------:|
| **Scarcity** | 21 million coins <br />is the maximum supply | Unknown- the <br />supply grows roughly 2% per year | Also unknown to anyone outside of the Federal Reserve, Trillions and counting |
| **Recognizability** | Each coin is verifiable to it's genesis on the timechain | Each molecule of gold has distinct physical verifiable properties | If the Federal reserve says it is a valid note, it is (Unless you are an enemy of the United States) |
| **Durablility** | Each "Bitcoin" is information stored on a globally distributed network | Doesn't Rust and as far as can be measured Au197 is stable forever | Can be destroyed by any means that effect fabric and centralized databases |
| **Portability** | Available wherever data can be store- Anywhere | Can be moved at 9.81 Newtons per Kilogram- Methods may vary | Can be moved physically with fabric notes- Digitally with express permission from a US accredited banking institution |
| **Divisibility** | Currently can be divided into 100 million parts called Sats (can be further subdivided by adding decimal places) | Can be divided to the Atomic level (Though not practical) | Can be divided (without dilution) by adding new denominative bills or coinage<br />Can be divided (with dilution) by printing new bills or coinage |
| | **Bitcoin** | **Gold** | **Dollars** |
You may think with all of the great functionality of Bitcoin that the phrase "One of these things is not like the other" refers to BTC. No, I was referring to the Dollar. It is the only one on the list that was a currency that was substituted as some kind of faux money. It asserts itself, or rather the Federal Reserve asserts it, as money, de facto.
**Dollars are NOT money.**
Dollars are (allegedly) a currency. If money is a specific technology, currency is the financial infrastructure that allows that technology to reach and be used by the most number of people possible. This requires a firm tether between the asset being used as money and the currency used as a claim to that money. For example: If I hand you a chicken, you have a chicken. But, if I hand you a coupon that is redeemable for a chicken, you do not have a chicken. You have a claim to a chicken that is only as good as the party making that claim. Bringing it back to money again, dollars (Prior to 1971) were redeemable for gold at a rate of $35 per ounce. This is that strong tether that pegged dollars to gold and physical reality itself. Without a proof of work, mining, . Until…
**WTF Happened in 1971?**
The Nixon shock happened. Briefly, The U.S. took in Europe’s gold in the 1940’s to keep it out of Hitler’s hands. The U.S. made an agreement to peg the dollar to Europe’s gold. The U.S. over printed dollars in relation to the gold holdings. Around 1971 France (among others) called the U.S. out for devaluing the dollar and thus European currencies. So, Nixon “Temporarily” suspended the convertibility of dollars to gold. Now, here we all are like Wile E. Coyote having run off of the golden cliff clutching our dollars in our arms and 54 years later we still haven’t looked down to see the truth.
**Dollars Aren’t Backed by Anything**
This is why no country in the world today has a money standard. Seemingly they all forgot the number one rule of issuing currency, it must be backed by something. Now, you may hear dollar proponents say “The U.S. dollar is backed by the full faith and credit of the United States!” Another way of saying that is, “We said it is worth something, so it is!” This fiat (by decree) mentality creates a plethora of perverse incentives. The ever growing supply disallows users of the Dollar to save without inccuring the penalties of inflation.
**Just a Few Examples of How You're Being Crushed**
Because your dollar loses value:
- It pushes people to spend them on assets that seem to appreciate (as the dollar debases) but are truly staying stagnant.
- It pushes people to gamble on securities hoping the perceived value is enough to beat the inflationary curve.
- It pushes people away from saving for their future and the future of their families.
- It creates insane credit incentives so that people borrow way more than they can afford today knowing that dollars will be cheaper in the future. (Effectively a short position)
- It pushes people to spend less and less time making and maintaining their families as it becomes more expensive to keep a similar lifestyle to which it was founded.
These are just a few of the terrible consequences of not knowing that trading a currency with no monetary backing has on a society. Most may blame this soley on the ability to print currency by a central bank but, that is not the only factor. If the fed printed dollars against gold, people would simply take the best rate they could get and remonetize themselves with the gold. But because there is no monetary escape hatch guaranteed by the issuance of dollars, I.E. no one has to take your dollars in exchange for their Bitcoin or gold, you are left at the mercy of the market.
**One Day, People Will Stop Accepting Your Dollars**
Those lementing the high price of Bitcoin might want to thank their lucky stars that Bitcoin still has a rational number next to the "BTC 1=$?" sign. One day you will have to exchange something of actual value to the spender (no longer a seller). Your product, good or service, will be the only thing that anyone might be willing to part with their Bitcoin over. That is what makes a money, the most salable non-consumable good, whose only funtion is to back a financial structure that facilitates trade.
**Bitcoin is Capital**
Capital is a broad term that can describe anything that confers value or benefit to its owners, such as a factory and its machinery, or the financial assets of a business or an individual. Bitcoin being the latter creates the financial structures from which you build upon. You use capital to hold, transfer, and grow value. You do not do this with cash. Cash is a depreciating asset when you don't use it to gain goods or services for yourself or your business. This misconception around the equivalance between cash and money (financial capital) is what tricks people into believing Dollars are money. And what's worse is that even some of our greatest heroes have done this.
**Slay Your Heroes, Within Reason**
Unfortunately due to a mixing of verbiage that have **very distinct** differences, the title: "Bitcoin: A Peer-to-Peer Electronic Cash System" is technically inaccurate. Bitcoin doesn't fit the definition of **cash**, which is a liquid asset that can be easily converted into its equivalent value. In short, Satoshi misspoke. In reality, owning Bitcoin UTXOs (with private keys) means you already possess the asset, not just a claim to it. When you spend Bitcoin, the recipient receives the actual asset, not a promise of it. When you receive Bitcoin, you have final settlement on that transaction. Fundamentally Bitcoin is not cash, electronic or otherwise.
# Bitcoin is Money.
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@ fd208ee8:0fd927c1
2025-02-02 10:33:19
# GitCitadel Development Operations
We, at GitCitadel, have been updating, moving, and rearranging our servers, for quite some time. As a rather large, complex, sprawling project, we have the infrastructure setup to match, so we've decided to give you all a quick run-down of what we are doing behind-the-scenes.
## Supplier Coordination
Our first task, this week, was figuring out who would host what where. We have four different locations, where our infra is stored and managed, including two locations from our suppliers. We got that straightened out, quickly, and it's all slowly coming together and being connected and networked. Exciting to watch our DevOps landscape evolve and all of the knowledge-transfer that the interactions provide.
## OneDev Implementation
Our biggest internal infra project this week was the migration of all of our issues from Jira, build scripts from Jenkins, and repos from GitHub to a [self-hosted OneDev instance](https://onedev.gitcitadel.eu). In the future, all of our internal build, test, issue, patch/PR, etc. effort will take place there. We also have a separate repo there for communicating with external developers and suppliers.
Our [team's GitHub projects](https://github.com/ShadowySupercode) will be demoted to mirrors and a place for external devs to PR to. Public issues and patches will continue to be managed over our self-hosted [GitWorkshop instance](nostr:naddr1qvzqqqrhnypzplfq3m5v3u5r0q9f255fdeyz8nyac6lagssx8zy4wugxjs8ajf7pqy88wumn8ghj7mn0wvhxcmmv9uqq5emfw33kjarpv3jkcs83wav).
We're especially glad to finally escape the GitHub Gulag, and avoid being bled dry by Jira fees, without having to give up the important features that we've come to know and love. So, yay!
## Next Infrasteps
### Automated Testing
Now, that we have everything tied up in one, neat, backed-up package, we can finally move on to the nitty-gritty and the dirty work. So, we're rolling up our sleeves and writing the Selenium smoke test for our [Alexandria client](https://next-alexandria.gitcitadel.eu). We'll be running that in Docker containers containing different "typical Nostr" images, such as Chrome browser with Nostr Connect signing extension, or Firefox browser with Nos2x-fox extension. Once we get the Nsec Bunker and Amber logins going, we'll add test cases and images for them, as well. (Yes, we can do Bunker. I hope you are in awe at our powers).
We are also designing an automated infrastructure test, that will simply rattle through all the various internal and external websites and relays, to make sure that everything is still online and responsive.
After that, a Gherkin-based [Behave feature test](https://behave.readthedocs.io/en/latest/) for Alexandria is planned, so that we can prevent regression of completed functionality, from one release to the next.
The Gherkin scenarios are written and attached to our stories before development begins (we use acceptance tests as requirements), a manual test-execution is then completed, in order to set the story to *Done*. These completed scenarios will be automated, following each release, with the resulting script linked to from the origin story.
### Automated Builds
As the crowning glory of every DevOps tool chain stands the build automation. This is where everything gets tied together, straightened out, configured, tested, measured, and -- if everything passes the quality gates -- released. I don't have to tell you how much time developers spend staring at the build process display, praying that it all goes through and they can celebrate a Green Wave.
We are currently designing the various builds, but the ones we have defined for the Alexandria client will be a continuous delivery pipeline, like so:
This will make it easier for us to work and collaborate asynchronously and without unnecessary delays.
### Expanding the Status Page
And, finally, we get to the point of all of this busyness: reporting.
We are going to have beautiful reports, and we are going to post them online, on our [status page](https://status.gitcitadel.com). We will use bots, to inform Nostriches of the current status of our systems, so go ahead and follow our [GitCitadel DevOps npub](nostr:npub16p0fdr2xccfs07hykx92t0cascac69xjuwaq38kjqy3aawt5hx8s82feyj), to make sure you don't miss out on the IT action.
## Building on stone
All in all, we're really happy with the way things are humming along, now, and the steady increase in our productivity, as all the foundational work we've put in starts to pay off. It's getting easier and easier to add new team members, repos, or features/fixes, so we should be able to scale up and out from here. Our GitCitadel is built on a firm foundation.
Happy building!
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@ fd208ee8:0fd927c1
2025-01-23 15:31:24
## Planning Alexandria
People keep asking what features nostr:npub1s3ht77dq4zqnya8vjun5jp3p44pr794ru36d0ltxu65chljw8xjqd975wz has planned for #Alexandria, but they're not set in stone because we're an agile project.
What we do have, is lots of tickets on our Kanban boards and a naming scheme, where we use a famous person's last name, to signify the release goals.
### Gutenberg v 0.1.0
(after the inventor of the printing press)
will contain the features needed to read and write [NIP-62 Curated Publications](https://github.com/nostr-protocol/nips/pull/1600), as well as encompassing the complex infrastructure, architecture, documentation, and personnel we require to make this all run smoothly and look easy.
### Euler v 0.2.0
(after a mathematician credited with establishing graph theory)
will contain the features for deep-searching, visually exploring, and smartly navigating the data set, wiki page display, annotating and citing the publications, exporting to other formats (like PDF, ePUB, and LaTeX), and commenting/reviewing. To help with the heavy lifting, we will be swapping out the core with our own Nostr SDK called "Aedile".
### Defoe v 0.3.0
(after an author who perfected the novel format)
will be all about our favorite writers. We will be focusing upon profile data, payment systems, book clubs and communities, and stylesheets.
That is everything we have planned, for the v1.0 edition, and we consider that version to be a true product.
As for after that, a teaser...
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@ e034d654:ca919814
2025-01-22 23:14:27
I stumbled into nostr end of March 2023. At that point already fully thrown into the hows, whys and whats of Bitcoin, never really interested in social apps, just recently playing around with Lightning, the only experience of which at the time was Muun (😬) and stacker.news custodial wallet.
Fairly inexperienced with technicals other than rough understandings of concepts. A crappy laptop node with a dangling SSD via USB, constantly having to resync to current blockheights whenever I was ready to make an on chain transaction to cold storage. My great success after over two years of delay, and a couple failed attempts.
Something about the breadth of information for nitty gritty specifics, the clash with all the things that I found interesting about Bitcoin, with others equally as focused, kept me interested in Nostr. Plus the lighthearted shit posting to break up plumbing the depths of knowledge appealed to me.
Cut to now. Through the jurisdictional removals and even deaths of LN wallet projects, using mobile LSPs, finding use cases with the numerous cashu implementations, moderate comfortability with NWC strings of various permissions, budgets for seemingly endless apps of Nostr clients, swapping relays, isolated wallets with Alby go for my wife and cousin (I told them both not to put much on there as I'm sure failure is imminent) Alby Hub and Zeus, now fully backended by my own persistently online lightning node. All of it adding to the fluidity of my movement around the protocol.
Nimble.
Gradual progress. Reading through notes and guides posted on Nostr learning little bits, circling back eventually, if even at a time it wasn't clicking for me. Either way. Glad i've stuck to it even if I still barely know what it is I'm doing.
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@ fd208ee8:0fd927c1
2025-01-19 12:10:10
I am so tired of people trying to waste my time with Nostrized imitations of stuff that already exists.
Instagram, but make it Nostr.
Twitter, but make it Nostr.
GitHub, but make it Nostr.
Facebook, but make it Nostr.
Wordpress, but make it Nostr.
GoodReads, but make it Nostr.
TikTok, but make it Nostr.
That stuff already exists, and it wasn't that great the first time around, either. Build something better than that stuff, that can only be brought into existence because of Nostr.
Build something that does something completely and awesomely new. Knock my socks off, bro.
Cuz, ain't nobody got time for that.
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@ 6871d8df:4a9396c1
2025-01-18 20:12:46
## 2024 Prediction Reflections
### Politics
#### **Democrats & 2024 Election**
- _“Democrats’ attempt to stifle democracy will likely put Trump in the White House. If not, some real sketchy stuff would need to happen to keep him out.”_
This prediction was *exactly right*. The assassination attempt on Trump seemed to be the final blow for the Democrats. Despite a heavy push my legacy media, Trump won handily.
The Democrats switched to Kamala Harris after Biden showed signs of incapacity, most notably in the first debate against Trump.
My prediction for the election also turned out to be [exactly right](https://cwilbzz.com/election-prediction-my-vote/), which, thank you [Robert Barnes and Richard Baris](https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLHe3u4zZfY7K8PqHcVM0iLjHKV9Sr7iDy).
#### **Evidence of Institutional Ideological Capture**
- _“People will continue to wake up to ideologically captured institutions, and DEI will be the main loser.”_
Trump’s resounding election victory underscores that the public is increasingly aware of (and rejecting) such institutional capture.
Of note, Boeing comes to mind as an institution that had a tough time in 2024, in large part to DEI. Nothing seemed to function correctly. The biggest story being how they [stranded people in space](https://www.forbes.com/sites/jeremybogaisky/2023/01/17/boeing-spacex-nasa-artemis/)
### Media & Public Opinion
#### **Rise of Independent & Alternative Media**
- _“Independent and alternative media will continue to grow as people’s trust in legacy media declines.”_
Twitter (X), under Elon Musk, shattered mainstream media’s influence far more than expected. As Elon has said, “You are the media now.” Alternative sources are king.
- *Notable Example:* Kamala Harris’s decision _not_ to appear on the Joe Rogan podcast contrasted with Trump’s appearance, further highlighting the power shift to alternative media.
### Markets & IPOs
#### **Interest Rates & Public Markets**
- _“As interest rates come down, I expect public markets and IPOs to heat up.”_
This _did not_ play out. Companies that were expected to go public in 2024 remain private in 2025. The reasons are varied, but there is confidence that 2025 might see changes.
### Technology & AI
#### **LLMs & AI Adoption**
- _“AI and LLMs will continue to move at a rapid rate, increasing productivity. Tools like Bard will become more mainstream.”_
AI did *take off*. Usage among nontechnical users increased, and it’s no longer uncommon for people to default to AI-driven tools rather than Google search.
#### **Decentralized AI**
- _“I hope to see a rise in decentralized AI to counter big-player LLMs.”_
We didn’t see explicit ‘decentralized AI’ breakthroughs, but more players entered the AI market. ChatGPT still dominates, with Elon’s ‘Grok’ making moves. Google, Meta, and Microsoft remain active but slightly behind in usage.
### Bitcoin & Digital Assets
#### **Institutional Adoption of Bitcoin**
- _“2024 will bring more institutions to Bitcoin. Possibly another large company or nation-state. The ETF should help, likely pushing BTC to a new all-time high.”_
No *large* public company or nation-state placed a bet, but smaller public companies did. Michael Saylor presented to Microsoft’s Board, which was the closest instance to a major move.
- *Price Movement:* Bitcoin _did_ hit a new all-time high, rising to as much as $108k in 2024.
#### **Lightning Network**
- _“Lightning will improve but remain primarily used for acquiring Bitcoin, not everyday payments.”_
Still true. Lightning usage remains *tiny* relative to broader Bitcoin adoption.
#### **Nostr Adoption**
- _“Nostr will grow, and we’ll see new companies leverage this network beyond just social media.”_
Growth continues, but Elon Musk’s Twitter takeover slowed adoption. Nostr will remain niche until a major catalyst occurs (e.g., a big player joins or forced usage due to censorship).
#### **Stablecoin-Specific Regulations**
- _“Expect stablecoin regulations in 2024 that’ll be favorable to them.”_
This didn’t happen, largely due to the administration’s hostility. Expect potential change in 2025.
#### Miscellaneous 2024 Reflections
- **Return to Sanity**
- 2024 felt like sanity prevailed, largely due to the Democrats’ collapse behind Biden and Harris and Elon’s Twitter dominance.
- **Operation Chokepoint 2.0**
- Received a lot of attention, and I’m thankful it did because my experience at Strike was radicalizing and extreme.
- **Bryan Johnson & Anti-Aging**
- He burst onto the scene with his obsession over biomarkers. I see it as misguided—chasing markers in isolation doesn’t automatically yield a healthy system.
- **Apple’s Rough Year**
- Without a visionary leader, Apple appears to be scraping by on existing products rather than innovating.
- **Google Under Fire**
- Google is in a tough fight with the government, just as it seems they’re on their heels with AI competition.
---
## 2025 Predictions
1. **Bitcoin’s Performance**
Bitcoin will have a good year, but not better than 2024. To beat 2024, it must close above 206k on December 31, 2025. I’ll take the under on that.
- I am not ruling out it to be over that at some point in 2025.
2. **Twitter’s Success Continues to Stunt nostr**
- Nostr adoption will stay slow due to Elon’s dominant influence with X (Twitter).
- As long as it remains a beacon of free speech, I doubt we see an exodus.
- Rumble integrating Tether *might* help if they allow Nostr-like features (zaps), but that seems unlikely.
3. **Apple**
- Apple will continue its rent-seeking behavior and put out underwhelming products.
4. **Google’s Quantum & AI**
- Recent buzz about Google’s quantum chip and AI improvements won’t pan out as a big deal.
- Google will continue to trail OpenAI and xAI in practical LLM usage.
5. **Elon, Vivek & DOGE**
- I expect them to *deliver* more than critics think. They’ll expose bloat and inefficiencies in ways that will shake up norms. I greatly welcome this. I wouldn’t bet against them.
6. **Mainstream Media Reckoning**
- In Trump’s second term, mainstream news outlets will face a real reckoning, as I can’t see how their bias can continue.
- They’ll have to reduce their bias or risk bankruptcy.
- Alternative media’s growth trend continues, especially as Twitter keeps exposing mainstream outlets’ weaknesses.
7. **RFK Delivers**
- We will see big changes in the health space due to RFK at HHS. These are changes that I am very excited to see.
8. **Foreign Policy**
- With the transition to Trump, I expect some foreign policy wins that will buck the establishment but will deliver wins that are not thought possible by the “experts.”
---
### Closing Note
- **Overall 2024**: It was a year of major political upheaval, vindication for Bitcoin, and continued AI advances.
- **Outlook for 2025**: Bitcoin remains strong, AI competition heats up, and media institutions face existential challenges. I’m optimistic for continued decentralization and a more level playing field across tech, finance, and politics. I think the start of Trump’s second term will be very strong for the market, health, and culture. Accelerate.
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@ f7922a0a:82c34788
2025-01-17 23:06:56
Now that the 3rd Satellite Skirmish is complete I wanted to highlight some of the cool features on embrace.satskirmish.com
This is what the cutting edge of podcasting 2.0 looks like imo. Live video in an app that allows you to send sats to the artists in real time.
On the left hand side we have a Boost score borad that displays the total amount of sats that have come in during the show, live Boosts/Booastagrams as they come in, total amount of sats from each person Boosting and total amount sent from each app.
The middle is ovisaly the video of the band playing but with some graphics around it and Boost alerts that show up on the screen in the form of snow flakes for this one.
The righthand side is an IRC chat window that connects to an IRC server that the No Agenda community has used for 18+ years thanks to zoidzero++.
The bottom of the page is where things get cool. When you click the Boost the Crew button in the center you can send a Boost that gets split between everyone helping produce the show (hightlighted in yellow).
Each band also has their own Boost button so you can Boost them while they are playing or anytime you visit the page.
