Start with the machines, not the manifesto. This site is a build log: one person, own hardware, no cloud by default. The posts below are ordered the way I built things — not the way a syllabus would.
The origin story (5 minutes)
What is Self-Sovereignty?
The premise, minus the sermon.
HomeLab 101: A Basic Setup
What a homelab actually is — and the minimal version to start with.
The local AI stack (the current main thread)
The Private Local AI Server Install
Hardware, temps, regrets.
Installing Llama.cpp on Your Desktop
The gateway drug to local AI.
OpenWork: The Claude Cowork Alternative
AI agents you actually own.
From Chatting to Delegating
Why professionals should care about agents.
The honest-ledger series (AI agents, receipts included)
I Built an Autonomous Trading Bot in Four Hours for Twenty Bucks
The costs, the failures, the truth.
Brief the Contractor: Getting an AI Agent to Build You a Skill
Prompting as specification-writing.
The ‘why-bother’ department
Fractional Reserve Banking
Where your “safe” money actually lives.
Cybersecurity Tips from a Former Hacker
The basics most people skip.
New build logs land a few times a month. If you’d rather they come to you, the newsletter signup is coming to the footer — no cloud tracking home, obviously.