I have a Pixel 4, and I have been debating installing either GrapheneOS or LineageOS on it for a while. Then I found out about something called microG. It basically provides open-source free-as-in-freedom alternatives to the proprietary APIs and services that Google provides for Android, such as through Google Play Services. They build their own version of LineageOS that comes bundled with their libraries. That ROM is called LineageOS for microG (yes, I know, it’s a very clever name). I figured that would be a good step in the right direction for me to wean myself off of using Google’s Android to using something that is more open-source and without as much of the invasive Google software.

I’ve been meaning to start self-hosting a lot of the services I use on a regular basis by myself, but haven’t really gotten around actually doing it. Every few months I would read an article about how companies are using data from users who use their products and it would make me want to switch, but it was enough of a hassle that I never actually took the plunge. Until this weekend.

My main computer is my laptop: a Lenovo ThinkPad T450s.

Sponsorship is essential to this event, because without sponsors you don’t have any source of funding, objectives for prizes, judges, or a source of tech talks. Sponsorship should be sought out early, about 3-4 months before the start of the event.

Local Hack Day is an event I organized in both Fall 2016 and again a few days ago in Fall 2017. It’s a 12-hour hackathon held at multiple universities around the world, with help from Major League Hacking. I’m writing this post as a way to document 1) what planning is required in order to organize an LHD (specifically at Temple University, but can be generalized for other situations), and 2) as a way of passing down this knowledge to other students (both here and at other schools) to organize more in the future. I organized this event largely by myself both times, but it is very helpful to spread this responsibility between several people so it’s not too stressful for one person.

I’ve recently gotten back into podcasts…

Hello! Just made this blog using the Jekyll Now repository on GitHub. Super easy to setup. Also, I’m using Prose to edit this post with Markdown.