Published May 10, 2026, 11:46 AM EDT Former radio and TV guy (I Heart Radio and PBS). Now a writer, researcher, and musician who writes about the absurdity of our modern world and other offbeat topics. Specializes in weird music, the old web, retro video games and tech, and researching strange, yet interesting things. His work has appeared in Vice, Tedium, Star Trek.com, Today I Found Out, Tybebar, SyFy Wire, and How To Geek. Currently working on a variety of music, web, and writing projects. Visit him on the web at  https://djbuckfreelance.neocities.org/ . Homelabs are a fun, worthwhile hobby for many of us, but you don't always need to invest hundreds or thousands of dollars into your setup. I try to think of it as more of a sandbox where I’m making things, learning, and experimenting with hardware and software. Sometimes, you can experiment, create, and learn just as well with the smartphone you use every day (or an extra Android device you have lying around).…