Hey fellow stackers & builders!
Lately I've had my head down working on a few initiatives that I'd like to share!
TLDR: CASCDR is like Zapier on open protocols. We use lightning for v4v APIs & nostr for discovery/reputation. We just added a new YouTube Agent that can summarize or write a post for 1hr+ YouTube videos!
I initially made the CASCDR workflow builder for the bolt.fun Legends of Lightning Hackathon. There, I was able to build a UI and 6 fundamental L402 Paid Lightning APIs including:
  • 🧠 General Purpose LLM (GPT)
  • 👁️ AI Image Analysis Capabilities
  • 🖼️ Text to Image Generation
  • 🗣️ AI Voice-to-Text Transcriptions
  • 🎥 Youtube Video Extraction
  • 💾 Storage
CASCDR can take any of these services and combine them in a workflow or consume them individually (screenshot of anonymous ChatGPT use case):
The API marketplace network CASCDR is a part of is as open as I could make it on a first pass with plans to make it more open. Anyone can create an API service using the templates we've made and broadcast those services on Nostr where any client (of which CASCDR is just 1) can purchase them anonymously on the user's behalf with lightning. Buyers that value privacy and the ability to only pay for what they use could pick up those services and use them as building blocks.
At the conclusion of the hackathon I saw many possibilities and the challenge was figuring out where exactly to take the project next. The challenge with projects like this is that they are two sided markets & require both robust buyer & seller market.
I realized I was going a little too much into the theoretical and I wanted to ground my project in some concrete use cases. Being that I am privileged to be a member of @PlebLab, I have access to a supportive community of people that will give me the feedback I need to craft this into a high quality project.
After doing research on state of the art AI techniques & speaking with prospective users (mostly in Pleblab), I wanted to create a productivity tool that simplifies the lives of content creators with two primary users in mind:
  1. Podcasters like @Car
  2. Educational Content Creators like @bitcoinplebdev
The idea is to help them quickly and easily do research, process huge amounts of content, or review their own material in order to create more content that we all enjoy. The initial results and reaction has been quite positive!
I consider this release to be an alpha that is slightly embarrassing. I plan to make numerous UX improvements over the coming week. Try it out and let me know your thoughts!
Additionally, I plan to add a bot that can monitor a given YouTube channel and provide content to your email or nostr inbox as it comes in.
StartOS Package for Vendors
I am pleased to announce that I will soon be submitting an StartOS package that allows users to stack sats by proxying requests with their OpenAI key. The current iteration connects to the LND node running on the device and generates invoices on behalf of the seller as requests for proxy come in.
This version is a first pass that just proxies requests to GPT3.5. I plan to add the following on future iterations:
All of these services will be available over TOR and will allow clients such as CASCDR to scale horizontally, decentralize the network, and create an anonymity set that throws a wrench into the Orwellian plans of companies like OpenAI.
Other Odds & Ends
  • Currently CASCDR has predefined workflows but I am about 50% done with a solution that will allow users to create custom workflows. I put this on pause in pursuit of immediately user facing applications and plan to pick it up later when it is strategically prudent.
  • I am onboarding a new dev who has never used lightning or nostr! He is a quick study and I expect him to start making major waves in the coming weeks!
  • And of course more services such as SMS4Sats, proxies, nostr scrapers, and more!
Check out the project! All feedback is appreciated!
Cheers, UncleJim21
Love this project, the earning element hit me with left hook, thought the only model i'd see regarding earning through ai via bitcoin would be gputopia (selling GPU power for sats). Bullish on paying 25 cents over lightning for podcast summaries. Bullish on the Start 9 news, Bullish on the new dev that's never used lightning and nostr.
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920 sats \ 0 replies \ @kr 8 Feb
love it, Zapier is the perfect example of a business that could use Lightning payments to save their users money and settle payments instantly.
excited to follow along with progress!
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Am I understanding correctly that the Start OS app is for processing the request on one's personal node hardware?
If so, can one select how much computer resources to allocate?
I am imagining all the poor little Raspberry PIs that will be melting down under the load.
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It allows you to sell ChatGPT proxy services to the network for sats.
You just proxy requests (as opposed to running the computationally expensive inference algorithm to generate content) so the additional load caused by CASCDR is pretty minimal. The real issue would be running the lightning node in the first place on a Raspberry Pi which is a risky proposition.
I would strongly advise against running a node on a RPi in the first place and I would say running FreeGPT would be completely out of the question. I highly recommend S9's Intel NUC.
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Latest CASCDR update here: #568299
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I've told the founder this before, but for growth's sake I think each possible cascade, ie workflow, should have its own landing page like it's its own application.
This is a terrible example, because it doesn't look like a landing page for an app and could be executed better, but when I search google for:
Basically it enumerates every combination of the things it's capable of on its own page and makes it dead simple to get what the heck you came there for.
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this is a cool idea on many levels
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Shipping like crazy, let's go! UncleJim21 takes feedback/requests and builds solutions within a week
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🫡
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@Car I think I might be out of a job doing the Stacker News Live timestamps each week.
"AI took my job!!!" (Wumbo Throws cowboy hat on the ground)
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0 sats \ 0 replies \ @Car 8 Feb
no way @Wumbo !! keep doing them don't give up your job to AI
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180 sats \ 1 reply \ @Entrep 9 Feb
Cascdr is offering good services, I would love to use AI text to audio transcription and see if the voicing comes natural
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Latest CASCDR Update here: #600228
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And of course more services such as SMS4Sats, proxies, nostr scrapers, and more!
receiving SMS as well? (ie. rent a private SMS number for the day). Would be very helpful for registering for various spynet things that require phone number verification.
Ideally this should just forward any receives to my nostr npub via a DM so I don't need to hang around site waiting for receive.
Same could work for a rentable throwaway email address.
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CASCDR update here: #568299
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great idea. Ethics around privacy are shared. Just need to make sure we execute it properly & prioritize it in the right strategic way.
Stay tuned.
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23 sats \ 0 replies \ @Alby 8 Jul
This is fantastic. Can't imagine how far this can grow. Fingers crossed!
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110 sats \ 0 replies \ @Car 8 Feb
Also anyone interested in the CASCDR vision def check out the pod we did last year. https://share.transistor.fm/s/2a583edb
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20 sats \ 3 replies \ @Wumbo 9 Feb
Very nice, keep up the good work.
This was my first time using GPT ( or anything like it)
Here is two of my test queries. GPT -> Image (query "Sunset over a castle"):
Proxied GPT3.5 Turbo Service: You: What is a castle?
ChatGPT: A castle is a fortified structure, typically built during the medieval period, that served as a residence for nobility or a military stronghold. Castles were primarily constructed for defense purposes and provided protection from external threats, such as attacks by invaders or rival lords. They typically featured high walls, towers, and other defensive elements like moats and drawbridges. Castles often had a central keep or main building, surrounded by walls and other structures, and were designed to withstand sieges and prolonged battles. Over time, castles evolved into more elaborate and architecturally impressive structures, incorporating various styles like Norman, Gothic, or Renaissance.
@cascdr, 2 pieces of feedback:
  1. I don't see an estimated price on the ChatGPT service page like on the GPT -> Image. I was a little hesitant to click run without having some concept of cost.
  2. I see the Run button changes it text "..." while waiting for the response. Is there any more meaningful message that can be profiled to the user? In the GPT -> Image the debug text on the left of the screen gave me some insight if it was working or stuck.
I had held of using ChatGPT like services because of the requirement to make an account. Cascdr solves that issue for me.
Good job!
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latest CASCDR update is out! #600228
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Latest CASCDR update: #568299
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sorry about that there's a bug that prevented the price from loading properly.
I'll issue a fix soon.
A workaround for the meantime is if you click a different logic app tab (YouTube Transcript) then click back it'll force it to load the price.
Thank you for the feedback! Beautiful pic!
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well.thanks.
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