I'm lame I guess. Node aesthetics matter to me. \ stacker news ~bitcoin

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I'm lame I guess. Node aesthetics matter to me.

297 sats \ 28 comments \ @Ice9 4 Nov 2023 bitcoin

Feel free to throw rocks at me.

I don't currently run a node. But at some point I will. I do run an S9 heater so maybe that helps keep rock throwing to a minimum. 😂

I don't want to run it on an old computer for the vain reason of wanting it to look nicer. There, I said it.

Ronin Tanto. Same crew that does Samurai wallet. Double-ish the price of other options. But man, I don't know, I think I'm willing to pay for the easy set up and badass appearance.

Please convince me otherwise, saving money to buy more Bitcoin is one of my key priorities...But I also feel like I'm at the point in my Bitcoin life where running a node is important.

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327 sats \ 3 replies \ @Athena_Alpha 4 Nov 2023

How To Build A Sexy Umbrel Node For $300

Don't have to install Umbrel on it, can be any FOSS, but it'll be nice looking 👍

0 sats \ 2 replies \ @Ice9 OP 5 Nov 2023

Sweet. I like this option. Thanks for that!

100 sats \ 1 reply \ @Athena_Alpha 5 Nov 2023

Some minor notes to add:

Pi 5 is just released, highly recommend it as it's much more powerful (2-3x faster than Pi 4)

Pi 4 mentioned in our build is great for a Bitcoin Node, a Lightning Node (with 10ish tops channels) and not really much more. If you want to have a much more serious Lightning Node on it that routes a lot of other peoples payments then it's better to just go a with a few years old mini PC with like, Core i5, 16 GB RAM, SSD etc. This is obviously more expensive, but it'll be able to have essentially unlimited channels and do a number of other things. When routing payments speed, uptime etc are all part of the routing metrics, so a slow Umbrel over Tor with a handful of channels doesn't usually work well.

Speaking of doing other things, if you want it to store / host / sync data like photos, files etc don't use Umbrel. Just buy/use a proper NAS like Synology or QNAP. Yes they're more expensive (~$1,000+ vs ~$300) but that's a LOT cheaper than losing all your data!

0 sats \ 0 replies \ @Ice9 OP 5 Nov 2023

Thanks for your input. Much appreciated. I had no intention of venturing down the lightning node path... But I tend to keep going deeper. Maybe I should be looking a couple moves ahead with this incase I want to go there in future. Hmmmmmm. 👍

100 sats \ 0 replies \ @Zepasta 4 Nov 2023

Im rocking an aluminium "DeskPi Pro" case for my Raspberry Pi 4, personally i think it looks great and minimalistic.

100 sats \ 8 replies \ @DarthCoin 4 Nov 2023

The most important question is to ask yourself: WHY DO YOU WANT TO RUN A NODE. Then read some of my guides about nodes:

and many more on my substack (over 60)

0 sats \ 6 replies \ @Athena_Alpha 5 Nov 2023

Clearly it's so OP can call themselves a Node Runner 😎

0 sats \ 5 replies \ @DarthCoin 5 Nov 2023

No. Just calling a node runner is not enough. That's why we have so many shity nodes in the network that do not do any good but wrong, because many noobs want to be jyst nodd runners without anything else. Read my guides, I explained there WHY and WHO should run public nodes.

0 sats \ 4 replies \ @Ice9 OP 5 Nov 2023

I feel like Athena may have just been keeping it a bit light hearted with a smile on their face.

The question you should ask yourself, Darth, is, does it matter to you or the network if a noob runs a node that's not 100% functional/optimal?

What can go wrong... Aside from noob maybe losing their own keys and wasting some of their own time?

Just an FYI: under your first link there's a dead link with heading "Main reason why you should run a node - In Bitcoin We Trust"

My main goal with running a node is to help support the network. I would also use it as my own wallet for a portion of my BTC. However, I'm comfortable with Cold Card so don't see myself going 100% on my own.

Routing my own payments through it/lightning isn't high on my list CURRENTLY, but in order to learn more I need to do keep moving in that direction.

Bitcoin for me is not so much escaping government control (though I understand fully why that's important to some), but more NOT being tied 100% to that financial system.

Calling myself a node runner... Sure, why not. I like being part of the Bitcoin network on all levels. I don't broadcast my involvement to the general masses, but I also don't need to stay in a basement pretending to be a freedom fighter with my node.

I definitely do not have your level of knowledge, but if you just aggressively throw a giant list of links at less experienced users YOU might actually be doing more damage than good. Maybe the noob you turn away might end up being a valuable asset down the road.

Anyway, peace! I'll definitely ask questions when I need them.... And yes, I'm reading some of your links for f* sakes. LoL.

0 sats \ 0 replies \ @Athena_Alpha 5 Nov 2023

I feel like Athena may have just been keeping it a bit light hearted with a smile on their face.

Yes it was meant to be tongue in cheek, probably should have put a "😛" emoji or something in there. Also from his grammar it seems English isn't @DarthCoin first language so that likely made it harder too

0 sats \ 2 replies \ @DarthCoin 5 Nov 2023

does it matter to you or the network if a noob runs a node that's not 100% functional/optimal?

Yes, it is very important to have a healthy network, not full of trash. My payments DEPEND on each public node in the network. That's why is imperative to be most of them good nodes, not just some dudes running shity nodes.

Maybe the noob you turn away might end up being a valuable asset down the road.

Goood! Bitcoin is not for the weak, only for brave. I sent you that shit ton of links to learn. If you are scared, then stay away.

If you are smart enough to run a good node, go ahead, you are more than welcome. Also keep in mind to have enough capital to sustain that public node, not coming with shity channels of 100k sats.

0 sats \ 1 reply \ @Ice9 OP 5 Nov 2023

You're referring to solely to nodes with open lightning channels, yeah? What about just running a Bitcoin core node. Is that considered pointless if it's not up to some standard you're setting?

100 sats \ 0 replies \ @DarthCoin 5 Nov 2023

Yes, is also pointless. Most of these core nodes will have:

by default only max 8 outbound connections
slow bandwidth to seed the blocks to other new nodes, limited to those 8 outbound
in order to give more outbound connections you need to open the port 8332 and have a static public IP. Also you need a powerful machine to be able to handle the huge traffic and memory that will be used. Only few nodes could do that in the network. Not talking also about the size of the mempool, if you really want to "help the network"...

As a personal node, yes is enough with 8 connections. But in order to say "I want to help the network" you MUST to those things. Additional you could offer neutrino services, that is more necessary but also will take some memory.

You see? is not just running a node...

0 sats \ 0 replies \ @Zepasta 4 Nov 2023

I think the OP meant btc node

0 sats \ 2 replies \ @nullcount 4 Nov 2023

The fact you posted asking for your mind to be changed is enough of a reason to change your mind.

A good node is one you don't even need to look at because you know its running. Set up monitoring, etc. to be notified if you need to go look at it.

Ugly nodes in closets FTW.

10 sats \ 1 reply \ @nullcount 4 Nov 2023

I prefer not to plaster my living space with Bitcoin branded gear. Never know when a repair guy or friend of a friend comes to visit and recognizes that you might have some sats laying around.

Pretty sure I got an inflated quote from a repair man once because he commented on my Bitcoin artwork and must have assumed I'm a whale.

0 sats \ 0 replies \ @Ice9 OP 4 Nov 2023

Fair point for sure. I wouldn't mind it being a conversation starter though. Despite casual mentions of Bitcoin with friends they are fully oblivious. Something visible, though maybe risky, might spark deeper conversations.... Maybe.

0 sats \ 1 reply \ @okpj 4 Nov 2023

The Tanto just looks like a Beelink box with a sticker on it to me…

0 sats \ 0 replies \ @Ice9 OP 4 Nov 2023

Hmmm, yeah, could be cheaper than I'm envisioning it to be.

Starting to lean towards piecing together my own with Raspberry Pi 4 etc.

0 sats \ 6 replies \ @Natalia 4 Nov 2023

why not buy all the parts and run umbrel yourself? it's so much fun this way too.

0 sats \ 5 replies \ @Ice9 OP 4 Nov 2023

I've considered that, but again, stupidly, it comes down to what do I want to have sitting on the shelf that I look at all the time. I'd imagine there are manufactured cases for containing the board and memory bits... What have you seen?

100 sats \ 4 replies \ @Natalia 4 Nov 2023

I like it to be simple and that's all, mine is a small black case - I don't look at it all the time 😂

169 sats \ 3 replies \ @DarthCoin 4 Nov 2023

https://versteegg.medium.com/wait-is-this-a-rotary-bitcoin-node-b16ca9b51f18

0 sats \ 0 replies \ @Ice9 OP 4 Nov 2023

Nice!

0 sats \ 1 reply \ @Natalia 4 Nov 2023

That's quite creative! it's basically like wearing clothes - I like mine being a minimalist. 😂😂😂