About the worst I can imagine happening (other than the new-found ability to rockroll someone's TV as a prank) is that said friend might take an interest in how I manage my data and want a hand with setting up a similar thing for themselves.

And that's all fine too. I like my friends quite a lot, and we often help eachother do stuff that is useful: Lending tools or an ear to vent at, helping to fix cars and houses, teaching new things or learning them together, helping with backups -- whatever. We've all got our own needs and abilities. It's all good.

Except... oh man: The electric bill! I forgot about that.

A small computer like what I'm thinking would consume an average of less than 10 Watts without optimization. That's up to nearly $16 per year at the average price of power in the US! I should be more cognizant of the favors I request, lest they cause my friends to go bankrupt.

/s, of course, but power can be a concern if "small" is misinterpreted.