That's a quick shift! Welcome! Don't forget to also contribute: Host your own node, maybe also mine on P2Pool once in a while...

You could even use Graphene as your computer when you connect a display, keyboard and mouse to it.

Sounds like you were on the right track, my friend.

One step at a time 😏👌

Wait, what?! Definitely gotta look into that!

Was looking at what's required to run an XMR node and it seems simple enough. And the GUI wallet does solo mining, which I understand helps the network.

Yes, running a private node is quite simple, although if you plan making it public, some hardening is advised. Regarding solo mining, unless you own some serious equipment, I believe it will not sustain a reliable payout frequency. I strongly suggest mining on a pool, especially P2Pool.

I wasn't going to mine for profit, more just to contribute to the network. Hopefully that makes sense?