This is a video I never wanted to make. Last May I talked about how Don from Nova Spirit Tech had been diagnosed with cancer, and I kept hoping I’d eventually see an update where he had good news. Instead, I found out yesterday afternoon that he passed away. I didn’t know Don personally, but we did exchange DMs on Discord—about his diagnosis, YouTube stuff, and projects we were both working on—and I was a genuinely big fan of his channel. Don’s content played a bigger role in my life than I think I realized at the time. Back in 2020, when I started dabbling in programming and wanted to host what I was building, I stumbled into self-hosting through channels like his. I’m pretty sure he’s the reason I first heard about things like Plex, later Jellyfin, and even Ventoy. Watching his videos helped pull me into this whole hobby of tinkering, and that hobby eventually turned into making videos… and then into my career. I also share how viewers can help: Don’s family is requesting donations to his son’s 529 college savings plan instead of flowers. And beyond that, I think the best way to honor Don is to follow his example—keep learning, keep tinkering, keep loving tech, and try to stay a little more positive while we do it. Hack till it hurts.