Thanks, this is one of the few truly beginner-friendly blogs I've found (not just this post, but the entire blog). It would be great for people to suggest some other more up-to-date resources for someone starting out. Specifically, this blog talks about trying and comparing different setups, factoring in costs, time commitments, dealing with setbacks, preparing for different use cases, etc.
There are lots of resources that share technical details, how-tos, system specs, etc., but not many that I've found walking through the decision making process including what worked and what didn't and why.