Funny story (I think): I happened to have brought a C.H.I.P. when I went back to europe for vacation. My father proudly showed me his new solar array and the log he had collected manually. After a bit of googling, sourcing a USB-serial adapter locally, and a few long nights I had the CHIP collecting this from the Growatt 3000's serial port and uploading it to pvoutput.org. It's still running 24/7.

EDIT: I have too many of the little SBC, but in my mind the CHIP is outstanding value for these little projects where in yesteryears one would have used a microcontroller.

For things that need more power, I like the ODROID C2.

Soo many to choose from.

Great application! I agree, you never know when you might need one for a project. My wife was recently complaining about why we don't have a house phone (nevermind that we both have cell phones). Anyway, I didn't want to pay for phone service. Took a rpi, installed asterisk, paired with a new google voice number, ordered a SIP phone -- and now we have a home phone with no monthly charge..

I'm not trying to be a jerk, I am just curious if I missed something. Where is the humor?

They meant "hey that made me think of a related story"