Zicklag

Software engineer and problem solver with a passion for producing high quality solutions to real-world problems. I strive to make great things that people can use and enjoy, all to the glory of God.

Mostly on Bluesky nowadays: https://bsky.app/profile/zicklag.dev

Blog: https://zicklag.katharos.group
GitHub: https://github.com/zicklag
Weird: https://zicklag.dev

Last Notes

2025-03-29 15:54:55 UTC

I'll be attending
@npub1cza…d6az next week! I want to talk about:
- open data & schema systems: leaf ( entity-component ), lexicon, and rdf
- “federation” through local-first tech & data synchronization
It'll be the first (un)conference I actively participate in so I'm excited to get to talk and discuss with people!
🗓️ April 1-2,2025
📍Online
https://fediforum.org/

2024-11-25 21:32:25 UTC

A reply to @npub1urx…v0z4's recent "recipe for the fediverse" and an overview of how we plan on handling identity for Weird on the
#leafprotocol. Just finished a new blog post!
https://blog.muni.town/capabilities-and-identity-with-leaf/
https://social.coop/@cwebber/113528858061852192

2024-11-23 14:59:16 UTC

- reply

This is actually the one thing that I hadn't figured out how to do on top of the #willowprotocol yet. but I really want to find a way to do it eventually. I think it's tricky so we'd need a good protocol / algorithm for it I think.
Currently we're just using public keys as identity which can be resolved through domains.
The rest of it is all stuff we've already got or that we're working on, other than the fact that we aren't using OCaps exactly because Willow has Meadowcap.

2024-11-22 20:43:25 UTC

Slowly while working on our #leafprotocol we've realized that it shares a lot of similarities with both #activitypub and #atproto.
We just finished a blog post that explains how Leaf compares with it's alternatives:
https://blog.muni.town/leaf-atproto-activitypub/

2024-11-12 01:15:38 UTC

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I think the reason people will keep using proof-of-work is because requiring you to expend natural resources will always just be an _easy_ way to make the token non-forgeable.
But I'm pretty sure it would be better for everybody if we used proof-of-stake instead.

2024-11-12 01:13:48 UTC

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I think Proof of Stake solves most of the problems, but it requires more trust in the validators ( proof-of-stake's version of "mining" ), and it becomes completely insecure if the value of the token drops too much. Like if the market for the token drops dramatically for any reason, then it can be easier to start cheating the system by "buying trust". Things are just harder to get totally secure.
That said, even though it's harder to do, I think the savings are absolutely worth it.

2024-11-10 19:10:28 UTC

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There aren't a lot of other options that work with as little governance, coordination, and trust.
Still, we're burning a bunch of electricity for a debatable advantage.
I think bitcoin has been practically useful in the lives of some people in Argentina after the government trashed the value of the national currency. Inflation was so bad you couldn't have savings.
So there is a possibility for usefulness in real life, but I'm not necessarily optimistic for it. 🤷‍♂️

2024-11-10 19:06:17 UTC

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I'm not pro-bitcoin or proof-of-work, and it does seem like a poor trade-off, but there is _some_ foundation for it's value.
In the end, it is kind of similar to gold. Gold has a limited supply and nobody can fake it. It's worth a lot because it takes a lot of energy and resources to mine the gold, and it's been around long enough that there is a certain respect for it and the fact that you can't just "make' it out of thin air.
Bitcoin is pretty similar in those ways.

2024-09-03 18:43:55 UTC

For the last several months I've been working on making a federated app.
I just finished migrating it to use the latest iteration of our new #leafprotocol data format on top of the #willowprotocol and so far it's going really well.
In this post I share some of the concepts and rational behind the Leaf Protocol:
https://zicklag.katharos.group/blog/introducing-leaf-protocol/
#fediverse #protocol #iroh

2024-08-15 23:30:06 UTC

Originally, the web was a way to distribute data and meaning.
Later, it evolved to let us distribute presentation, too.
Distributing presentation is well and good.
The problem is that our data got trapped in our presentation.
Now you can't get the data without the presentation.
Presentation should be a bonus that can be distributed alongside the data, not the means by which data is distributed.
🧵

2024-08-10 16:15:12 UTC

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Excellent post.
I'm less sure about the third shift "Interfaces become queries", but it's just an idea anyway and it's not bad.
The direction I've taken is to try and start designing a simple entity-component type data model that apps can read and write on top of whatever distribution protocol ( starting with the #willowprotocol, but it might work with other similar options, too ).
I've face similar inter-operability challenges in video game scripting interfaces.
🧵

2024-05-10 15:21:51 UTC

Why do we respect people. Where should we draw the line? Some of my thoughts on how people relate to each-other: The Reach of Respect.
https://zicklag.katharos.group/blog/the-reach-of-respect/
#life #philosophy #respect