Wes Ellis./ a personal notebook
Technology. Stories. Side projects.
A few things worth writing down.
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Welcome in. I'm Wes: a systems engineer who builds websites, writes fiction and songs, tinkers with old hardware and cooks a lot of breakfast. This notebook holds all of it. Here's the map.

Good first reads

hand-picked

Threads

All threads ↗
5 CONNECTED NOTES

Archive conversion workshop ↗

  1. Test and Convert a Folder of Mixed Archives with 7-Zip
  2. Convert 7z Archives to ZIP So Anyone Can Open Them
7 CONNECTED NOTES

Getting devices into Intune ↗

  1. Microsoft Intune, Before You Enroll Anything: What It Does and What to Plan
  2. How to Enroll a Windows Device in Intune by Hand
5 CONNECTED NOTES

The breakfast fundamentals ↗

  1. How to Make Eggs on a Griddle
  2. Pancakes
10 CONNECTED NOTES

Windows Update, untangled ↗

  1. Patching Without Fear: Rings, Risk and a Way Back
  2. WSUS, WUfB or Windows Update? Check (and Reset) Where a PC Gets Its Updates
4 CONNECTED NOTES

Dell BIOS passwords, without the pain ↗

  1. Set or Rotate the Dell BIOS Admin Password Without Baking It Into a Package
  2. Remove a Dell BIOS Admin Password with PowerShell and ConfigMgr
4 CONNECTED NOTES

Local admin, done right ↗

  1. Create a Local Administrator Account with PowerShell
  2. Create a Dedicated Local Admin Account for Windows LAPS to Manage
7 CONNECTED NOTES

Keeping Active Directory tidy ↗

  1. Delegating Your Tier 0 OU to a Dedicated Admin Group with PowerShell
  2. Building a Tier 2 OU Structure and Admin Group with PowerShell
5 CONNECTED NOTES

The Microsoft Graph toolbox ↗

  1. Clean Reinstall of the Microsoft Graph PowerShell Modules
  2. Set Extension Attributes on Entra ID Users with PowerShell
6 CONNECTED NOTES

Packaging with ConfigMgr ↗

  1. Create an MECM Package and Program from PowerShell
  2. Silently Uninstall Any App by Name with a ConfigMgr Package
12 CONNECTED NOTES

Spring cleaning for Windows PCs ↗

  1. A Safer Windows Disk Cleanup Script
  2. Removing Stale Windows User Profiles the Right Way
9 CONNECTED NOTES

PowerShell craft ↗

  1. The -WhatIf Trap Hiding in ForEach-Object
  2. Check PowerShell Scripts for Syntax Errors Without Running Them
9 CONNECTED NOTES

File wrangling ↗

  1. Flatten a Messy Media Library into A-Z Bucket Folders
  2. Zip Up Folders Nobody Has Touched in Months
7 CONNECTED NOTES

Building this notebook ↗

  1. Rebuilding This Notebook
  2. Picking a CMS for a Static Blog in 2026
8 CONNECTED NOTES

The design notebook ↗

  1. The '90s Computer-Ad Look, Without Faking an Operating System
  2. Designing with Vignelli's Rules
6 CONNECTED NOTES

The WordPress toolbox ↗

  1. WP-CLI: The Commands I Keep Coming Back To
  2. The WordPress REST API Without a Plugin: Reading, Creating and Updating Content
4 CONNECTED NOTES

Building a site for someone ↗

  1. The Discovery Checklist: What I Ask Before Building Anyone a Website
  2. From Kickoff to Launch: A Realistic Website Timeline
23 CONNECTED NOTES

Building G8KEPR ↗

  1. What G8KEPR Is, in Plain English
  2. Four Checkpoints on One Request: The G8KEPR Pillars
5 CONNECTED NOTES

Building with Claude and MCP ↗

  1. Setting Up MCP Servers From Scratch, and Telling When They're Broken
  2. A CLAUDE.md That Actually Helps
3 CONNECTED NOTES

Dev habits for a team of one ↗

  1. Scaffolding a Python Project So Future-You Doesn't Hate It
  2. Keeping an Old Project Alive With Small, Surgical Updates
13 CONNECTED NOTES

The retro workbench ↗

  1. Building a FieldStation42 Cable Box
  2. WeatherStar 4000: The '90s Weather Channel on a Raspberry Pi
15 CONNECTED NOTES

Games and gear ↗

  1. My Cyberpunk 2077 Mod Loadout
  2. Modding Shadow of Mordor in 2026
10 CONNECTED NOTES

Console field guide ↗

  1. The Golden Age of Arcades, 1978 to 1983
  2. The TurboGrafx-16 and PC Engine: NEC's Brilliant Middle Child
8 CONNECTED NOTES

The emulation bench ↗

  1. A Raspberry Pi Retro Box: What to Buy, What to Run and What It Can Handle
  2. Emulation Handhelds Sorted by Chip, Not by Brand
5 CONNECTED NOTES

The PlayStation shelf ↗

  1. The PS3 Heavy Hitters I Still Haven't Played
  2. PS3 Hidden Gems: The Games That Deserved a Bigger Crowd
7 CONNECTED NOTES

Hash brown school ↗

  1. Fresh Hash Browns from Scratch
  2. Tater Tot Hash Browns
5 CONNECTED NOTES

The omelet station ↗

  1. How to Make an Omelet with a Ring
  2. 3 Cheese Omelet
4 CONNECTED NOTES

Hashes and scrambles ↗

  1. Breakfast Fiesta Mix
  2. Southwestern Hash
6 CONNECTED NOTES

Big breakfasts and sandwiches ↗

  1. The Full Griddle Breakfast
  2. Irish Breakfast
4 CONNECTED NOTES

Something sweet ↗

  1. Bananas Foster Pancakes
  2. Griddle Cinnamon Rolls
20 CONNECTED NOTES

Microwave muffins and mug cakes ↗

  1. Apple Pie Mug Muffin
  2. Blueberry Mug Bread
17 CONNECTED NOTES

Protein cookies, cheesecakes and bites ↗

  1. Blueberry Scone Cookies
  2. Chocolate Chip Protein Cookies (Microwave)
21 CONNECTED NOTES

Air fryer weeknights ↗

  1. Air Fryer BBQ Chicken with Sweet Potato Fries
  2. Air Fryer Buffalo Chicken Zucchini Skins
10 CONNECTED NOTES

Drive-thru copycats, lightened up ↗

  1. Taco Bell-Style Chalupas, Lighter
  2. Popeyes-Style Chicken Tenders, Baked
21 CONNECTED NOTES

Low-carb mornings ↗

  1. Chocolate Protein Pancakes
  2. Keto Pumpkin Pancakes
20 CONNECTED NOTES

Bowls, salads and wraps ↗

  1. BLT Chicken Salad Wrap
  2. Cheeseburger Salad
8 CONNECTED NOTES

Out of the casserole dish ↗

  1. Lighter Cheeseburger Pie
  2. Chicken and Broccoli Casserole
13 CONNECTED NOTES

Weeknight dinners ↗

  1. Philly Cheesesteak Pasta
  2. High-Protein Pasta Primavera
6 CONNECTED NOTES

Soups, chili and the slow cooker ↗

  1. Lasagna Soup
  2. Buffalo Chicken Soup
6 CONNECTED NOTES

The shake shelf ↗

  1. Berry Cheesecake Protein Shakes
  2. Bakery-Style Protein Shakes
5 CONNECTED NOTES

Desktop tinkering ↗

  1. eBay Auction Scraper: A Quick Look at What Things Are Going For
  2. YouTube Subscription Copier: Moving Your Channels to a New Google Account
3 CONNECTED NOTES

App experiments ↗

  1. FlowDrive: A Storage Optimizer That Only Exists on Paper (So Far)
  2. Terminal News: Headlines, Votes and Weather in Your Terminal
10 CONNECTED NOTES

Keeping a media library tidy ↗

  1. Fix Wrong Extensions and Find Duplicate Books in an Ebook Library
  2. Sort a Comic or Manga Library into Genre Folders from a CSV
3 CONNECTED NOTES

Tools for the writing desk ↗

  1. Turn a Folder of Markdown Chapters into One Kindle-Ready HTML File
  2. Count Manuscript Words by Chapter, Word Files Included
4 CONNECTED NOTES

Changing how the model answers ↗

  1. Absolute Mode: The Prompt That Turns Off the Small Talk
  2. Execution Mode: A Prompt for Answers Without the Preamble
4 CONNECTED NOTES

Prompts that hold up a mirror ↗

  1. The Self-Discovery Profile: A Mirror, Not a Horoscope
  2. The Contradiction Scanner: Blunt Feedback With Receipts
6 CONNECTED NOTES

Prompts for plans, apps and side hustles ↗

  1. God Mode: A Theatrical Prompt That Still Earns Its Keep
  2. The App Builder Prompt: From Idea to Spec in One Pass
2 CONNECTED NOTES

The Art of Wander ↗

  1. The Art of Wander: Things Reach a Flourish, Then We Optimize Them to Death
  2. Measuring the Flourish: What a 50-Case Benchmark Held Up and What It Didn't
5 CONNECTED NOTES

Notes on the novels ↗

  1. The Starship Ginsberg: A Teen Movie on a Ship That Won't Be Optimized
  2. Night Swimming: Flashlights, Y2K and Something Old in the Springs
9 CONNECTED NOTES

The ideas drawer ↗

  1. Continue?: A Teen Rom-Com Set in 1994 Seoul
  2. Synchronicity: Teenage Time Pilots and the Older Self Hunting Them
1 CONNECTED NOTES

The songbook ↗

  1. How I Write a Song, From Drum Beat to Master
2 CONNECTED NOTES

From the journal ↗

  1. The G.I. Joe With One Leg
  2. Air Through the Car Window
8 CONNECTED NOTES

The reference shelf ↗

  1. An AI Tools Directory: Video, Voice, Images, Writing and SEO
  2. Art and Drawing References: A Palette, a Type Pairing and a Folder of One-Page Tutorials
2 CONNECTED NOTES

Troubleshooting notes ↗

  1. Pushing DNS Servers to Clients with RADIUS Vendor-Specific Attributes
  2. Chasing ClientOtherError in Azure Files: Is It Your SDK or Your Code?