April 4 2024 - Reflections
I've appended my initial post with my original idea for my server project below. This post is an updated reflection, as nothing about this project went as I expected.
I experienced a fracturing in some of my relationships, but also within myself during my time with the solidarity infrastructures course. I came to terms with the extent to which I was burned out, and am in the process of requesting a formal leave to focus on my health. I think that SFPC, this class, and the fact that I couldn't engage with it as eagerly and deeply as I would have liked to helped me come to the conclusion that my current way of coping with the stresses in my day job are not sustainable.
I'm disappointed that this is the stopping place for this project (for now) but I am hopeful that this is still a seed of sorts. This project provided me with the inspiration to till, to think critically about my relationship with technology, work and the purposes of the communities I am a part of. I think that, as a little cell within my own network, I am both communicating outwards with little pings of support. I'm hopful to someday revisit the community library idea shared below, and I leave that post like a little pin on the idea. It will be there to pick up and carry forward, whether that is done by me or someone else, and for that I am glad.
March 3rd 2024
I have two older raspberry pis which I'm experimenting with. For this course I'm interested in running a calibre server to share ebooks. This will be my first foray into starting really formal resource sharing with a collective of pals in my community, and I'm hoping it will inform my own work developing a digital library of things server, which is a longer term project. In this way, this little pi is a seed that I hope to supplant with dreams of a physical space. Due to resource and time constraints, the digital world is a garden for these dreams.
Big questions I have going into this process:
- How will setting up these raspberry pi's headlessly (meaning without a monitor, keyboard, mouse; I plan to connect remotely via SSH instead) go?
- Previously I've only configured these pis using the graphical interface and I hate setting up cables so I'm trying a remote process this time around in hopes it allows me to be more fluid with my projects both setting them up and maintaining them.
- What kinds of privacy considerations will I need to incorporate into hosting these servers on my network and opening them up to the internet?
- This consideration is what has previously held me back from hosting my own server in my home. I'm going to be slow and intentional with answering this question.