Field Logs
Everything I build, written down
One log per build. Each one is a thing I actually run, not a thing I read about. That means the mistakes are in here too, because the mistake is usually the part worth reading. If a log is marked live it's finished and tested. If it's marked planned, I haven't built it yet and I'm not going to write it up until I have.
001
I stopped renting my brainA real AI assistant running on hardware you already own. No subscription, no cloud, no data leaving the house.
Live
002
Kill every ad on your networkOne small computer between your router and everything else. Works on the TV, the phone, the tablet, your mother's laptop. Includes the week I spent thinking I had killed it.
Live
003
Own your movies againYour own media server on hardware too old to sell. Nothing disappears from your library because a licensing deal expired.
Live
004
A smart home that isn't listening for someone elseLocal control, local voice, no account required. The lights still work when the internet is down.
Live
005
I put this site in my own houseThis page is served off a small computer in a spare room, reachable without opening a single port. Ten dollars a year, all in.
Live
006
Build your own AI agentAn agent is a model with a chat window and a few safe tools it's allowed to use. The keys are the risk, not the model.
Live
007
Backups that actually workThree copies, two kinds of storage, one off-site, and the restore test that proves it. A backup you have never restored is a wish.
Live
008
A private network for all your machinesReach every machine from anywhere with nothing exposed. Plus the routing gotcha that looks exactly like slow hardware.
Live
009
What I learned the hard wayThe rules paid for by real mistakes, written down so a few of yours are free.
Live
010
Text with no internet and no carrierLong range radio mesh you own end to end, so a message still goes through when the grid does not. Planned, not built yet.
Planned