I put openwrt on their router and an adblock dns already but a dns sink would be cool too

Neither of us want to learn proxmox, but I am still convinced there are simple and feature rich solutions that don’t require that.

I wonder how far the ecosystem is from a mini-server as easy as mint… Linux servers on old vapes exist, yet there’s no equally trivial, commodified mini servers. Nixos, silverblue or some other type of immutable os is probably part of the solution…

A completely non-tech friend showed me their internet-in-a-box, cheap, easy, lots of features in the box and well maintained. Just flash an SD or run the install script and its done. All data is on the usb so if there’s ever an issue, just reflash the os. Even comes with nextcloud! https://internet-in-a-box.org/

If we break up and somehow lose contact, and the server dies, they can just unplug the usb drive and use it like they used to. Or ask any of their other linux literate friends.

Thanks for answering :)

They’re not tech illiterate just uninterested in software. They do value privacy and want to life outside big-tech. They got a Linux pc already and love it. Just as easy as installing software in Mint is, so is installing a container inside a webgui.

How can we live life outside bigtech ecosystems, except for self hosting?

Hosting them on my systems create the same kind of lock-in but on an interpersonal level rather than a corporate one. I want to give them a slice of freedom, not tie them to me by way of tech dependence.

Would you get them a qnas or homey or other pre-made products? Apart from providing occational tech support and making sure they’re actually updating, would you argue thats more or less secure and privacy respecting than a basic diy server? Do you know any options that are both simple/”idiot-proof”, non-proprietary and private?

Yea I always provide lifetime support to linux convertees and so far every issue we had in lmde could be solved with the right keyword search. I was hoping the right server distro would have similarity good documentation. The Linux version of TrueNas and open media vault look like promising such distributions.

The idea evolves with all the comments and I think the way is to make two identical servers from thin clients. Identical hardware, different passwords. Two mirrored drives over usb each and the internal nvme for write cache and OS. Perhaps the OS could be immutable on a USB, to further reduce the risk of sudden self immolation. Just need to learn flashing the latest version.

As long as there is a competent webgui I know they are willing and capable of reading documentation and forum answers. Should something ever happen to our relationship my partner can easily take their data even if their server died, but they do say debin goes forever with regular updates. In the meantime, the server gets the same treatment as mine.

I did look at that. Between the giant popup ads and at the time 403 forum I couldn’t tell if it was legit or not. Would you say it is trustworthy and long term?

Maybe I don’t know myself! I suppose it boils down to understanding the whole stack. Too many times I’ve decided ”im gonna do distro A! And Y program. Great. Lets add Z. Oh. Outdated or incompatible without ninja moves. But flawless on distro B” Do i then virtualise, make ninja moves or swap distro? This makes me abandon it again.

For context I’ve gone from being the early linux adopter self hosting game servers on centos but I’m fairly stagnant since 10 years. I deegoogled but never replaced the infra. These days I barely open my laptop except for chores and work. Im back to using gmail for official purposes. But I also desperately want to break out of the phone/surveillance eco system

Now when I’ve been trying to look for solutions theres the added AI jungle. I was reading up on easyNas which seemed to tick all my boxes but it appears new and reliant on claude… so that would require me to look into how they handle that. Which feels insurmountable.

Im looking for the ”simple recommendation for grandparents” but for me, linux knowledgable but information overloaded. Ideally I can support my partner in a gui over the phone, should the need arise.

How did you make your stack and how easy to manage is it? Whats your favourite server distro and do you use any interface for it?

Did you maybe run out of swap space?

Is this hobby you want to start actually something you find fun or something you think you’d enjoy if you were the person you think you are?

My tricks to get going; Talk to people about it, this gives me external accountability. It then becomes ”I said I was gonna do it” and I don’t want to be someone who just talks shit. Or the person joins the activity and that makes it much harder to skip.

Think about the end goal or find a critical point. If i want to be a hobby farmer, i need to do the boring part of soil prep. Otherwise summer comes and Ill again be a shit talker. If i don’t sow these seeds now, theres nothing to farm later.

Prepare a work station and leave stuff out; In place and in the way. I make little specialised toolboxes or work stations. Its about lowering the barrier to getting started.

Simplify your ideas. You don’t need to see A-Z. Just reaching B can change circumstances and create inspiration. I employ ”donkey mode” by briefly considering the consequence of doing a bad job, how poorly others have done it but still succeeding, and repeat the mantra donkey mode donkey mode. I can deal with the consequence of my poor labour after the fact. Someone already made it worse than I did.

If things feel insurmountable; just focus on a small thing. I have many projects running in parallel and taking just a single step forward is great. When all the pieces are in place: execute. Dig that damn garden, don’t worry what gets planted.

And don’t be afraid to cut projects loose or shelve them. Having an infinite todo list where hobbies usually get knocked down, prevents the brain from feeling ”done and settled”, which keeps me from getting into something fun.

Cheers and good luck ✌️

New pics just dropped!

Just added new pictures!

Six days of growth looks like its about to bloom or something

Just noticed the potato quality photos. Stay tuned.

Not yet! Its been growing like crazy

In a few weeks we’ll know how microbe friendly the diluted soap is :) made sure to smudge my dirty hands in each dish for maximum yuck. Then exposed them to the air for a few hours before lidding them up. I wonder how to measure surfactancy and general soap efficiency tho if anyone knows :)

I’ve heard of this brand, but I already have soap. When it runs out and the bins stop providing more I will consider it!

Oo this is interesting! What causes this degradation? Does regular liquid soap also degrade in it’s bottle or is it concentrated enough to last/effects to be negligible? Thanks for adding information!

Obviously I’m not willing to risk anyones health, I posted to ask about if it might be a problem. So I’m not sure where you reached this conclusion. But the aggressive tone seems quite unnecessary and adds absolutely nothing 🤷‍♂️✌️

Haha idk why you gonna be so stingy and throw around definitions of words, especially when using opinion sources rather than a dictionary. Don’t you know that language is defined by how it is used? Regardless,

• Frugality is Strategic: It involves planning, research, and aligning spending with personal values and financial goals.

This post is the research.  One of my values and goals is to consume as little as possible, let alone buying unnecessary stuff in a world of over production of garbage. I actually have a soap dish and hard soap for those that prefer it. Personally I tend to get terrible pimple breakouts from it tho.

The financial goal of this little project is to not spend more money than necessary in general and as most soap just gets put down the drain anyway I thought it a decent afternoon project to look into.

• Frugality is Value-Oriented: The focus is on the overall value received, not just the price tag paid.

Arguably the value added by diluting the soap is very small, but if successful would double the range of a soap bottle, which has intrinsic value in consuming less and producing less garbage (packaging and soap dishes) on top of the fact I don’t have to buy any soap 🤷‍♂️

On the other hand your solution is generating more garbage in form of packaging and a soap dish, whilst adding absolutely nothing of value to my bathroom nor does it adress the issue of wasting soap.

> *Frugality is Empowering: It gives you control over your finances, reducing stress and building wealth.

I have very good control of my finances because I chose to not spend my money where it can be avoided. Hence the dumpster diving to acquire said soap. I spend it on beer instead :)

Now, looking at merriam webster dictionary, which is the definition I actually when deciding where to post my question, it gives much simpler answer than the capital powerhouse you shared.

the quality or state of being [frugal]  : careful management of material resources and especially money

https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/frugality

Cheers

I’m not doing anything but asking questions to find out if its doable or not. I too can see the consensus is it’s a bad idea ✌️

For sure, figuring out solutions to silly problems to save pennies can be loads of fun :)

Yea perhaps looking into making the dispenser foaming is a better approach.