I have this sudden urge to make something, but I don't even know what to call it

Hey Naci, I’ve been chewing on this idea lately. Since Raspberry Pis are impossible to find anywhere right now, I’m thinking about grabbing an ASUS Tinker Board instead. I was actually considering digging up an old set-top box I have lying around—it’s just first-gen digital tuner tech, so it’s basically useless as it is. My plan is to gut it and shove the board into that casing, because honestly, the chassis on that Vivax unit is just gorgeous. I’ve also been playing around with OS ideas in my head. I’d probably go with Ubuntu and then heavily mod it so you wouldn't even realize it’s running Linux. Since I spend my days coding apps anyway, I could tweak the boot sequence to launch my own custom app immediately. It would be a neat little hub where you could access some of my random side projects, though I'd definitely include a browser.

I used to really want to pick up one of those big, round VFD displays from Narva—man, those vintage vacuum fluorescent displays are just beautiful. It got me thinking about making a sort of DIY handheld version of a Raspberry Pi knockoff, complete with its own custom GUI and UI. But man, buying all those parts is a commitment, and I'm still pretty much a beginner, so there's a massive learning curve ahead.

What do you guys think? Anyone else ever had a random project idea like this pop into their head?