hands-on reviews, side projects, and diy builds.

parts you can buy to diy — plus writeups and videos.

You Are No Longer The Customer. You Are The Product.

Why digital privacy matters more than ever, how data turns people into products, and a practical, non-paranoid path to shrinking your digital footprint before AI-driven extraction becomes the default.

How To Build A Secure And Fast Home Network (Without Being A Network Engineer)

A plain-English guide to home network security and speed. Learn what routers, Wi-Fi access points, ports, passwords, and IoT separation actually do, and how to protect your privacy without overcomplicating things.

Verizon’s 4-Line iPhone 17 Pro Deal Is Literally Cheaper Than Buying The Phones

A full 36-month breakdown showing how Verizon’s 4-for-$100 deal with free iPhone 17 Pro devices costs less than buying the phones outright — and why it beats every competing carrier offer.

My New Home Media Setup: Building a Clean, Automated Streaming Hub on the Beelink ME Mini

I used AI to set up my media center, and it worked like a charm.

Building a High-Performance OPNsense Router on the Beelink ME Mini

How I replaced my home router with a Proxmox-powered OPNsense box and automated the entire setup with AI.

Picking the Perfect Always‑On Mini PC for My Mini Rack

Finding the perfect balance between performance, price, and expandability for my home server

Building a Practical Doomsday PC: A Radxa X4 Survival Vault

The build that made sense for long-term survivability without being a budget-breaking prepper fantasy

Hosting My Entire Blog On A Phone Powered By A Single Solar Panel

How I built a budget-friendly, off-grid, always-on blog using a phone, solar panel, and a battery.

A realistic smart home build without unnecessary frills

How I automated everything that actually matters

Brando's Toolkit – The Ultimate Automated Flash‑Drive Utility

A one‑command, AI‑crafted PowerShell script that formats, partitions, downloads, and organizes a bootable tech‑tool flash drive. Open‑source, FOSS, and ready for your own files.