Archive conversion workshop
Test, convert and tidy up ZIP, 7z, RAR and comic archives with 7-Zip and PowerShell.
Ideas that connect
Threads.
A note can stand on its own. A thread strings related notes together in a sensible order, so you can pick one up and keep pulling. 53 threads so far.
Tech
26 threadsGetting devices into Intune
From planning to enrollment to handing devices over from Defender, one step at a time.
- Microsoft Intune, Before You Enroll Anything: What It Does and What to Plan
- How to Enroll a Windows Device in Intune by Hand
- Trigger Intune Automatic Enrollment on a Windows Device with PowerShell
- What Get-WindowsAutopilotInfo Actually Does (and How to Use It Today)
Windows Update, untangled
Why updates stall, where a PC gets them from, and how to push, log and check them at scale.
- Patching Without Fear: Rings, Risk and a Way Back
- WSUS, WUfB or Windows Update? Check (and Reset) Where a PC Gets Its Updates
- Re-Enable Windows Update with PowerShell: Find Every Registry Block, Not Just One
- Opting Devices In to Microsoft Update with an SCCM Package
Dell BIOS passwords, without the pain
Setting, rotating, clearing and bypassing Dell BIOS and drive passwords, without baking secrets into packages.
Local admin, done right
One-off admin accounts, LAPS-managed accounts, password rotation and who's in the Administrators group.
Keeping Active Directory tidy
Tiering, exports, stale computers, service accounts and DNS on the domain controllers.
- Delegating Your Tier 0 OU to a Dedicated Admin Group with PowerShell
- Building a Tier 2 OU Structure and Admin Group with PowerShell
- Exporting Active Directory OUs to CSV (With Paths You Can Actually Read)
- Exporting Active Directory Computer Objects to CSV
The Microsoft Graph toolbox
Everyday Entra ID and Microsoft 365 jobs, done from PowerShell with the Graph SDK.
- Clean Reinstall of the Microsoft Graph PowerShell Modules
- Set Extension Attributes on Entra ID Users with PowerShell
- Pre-Register MFA Phone Numbers for Entra ID Users with PowerShell
- Report on Everything an Entra ID Group Touches with Microsoft Graph
Packaging with ConfigMgr
Building packages and programs, silent uninstalls, power plans, Group Policy refreshes and edition upgrades.
- Create an MECM Package and Program from PowerShell
- Silently Uninstall Any App by Name with a ConfigMgr Package
- Setting a High Performance Power Plan with an SCCM Package
- Forcing a Group Policy Refresh with PowerShell and SCCM
Spring cleaning for Windows PCs
Disk space, old profiles, stale OST files, stuck print jobs and the other gunk that piles up.
- A Safer Windows Disk Cleanup Script
- Removing Stale Windows User Profiles the Right Way
- Cleaning Up Abandoned Outlook OST Files
- Emptying the Recycle Bin from PowerShell, Quietly
PowerShell craft
Small habits and tools that make scripts safer to write, run and hand to someone else.
- The -WhatIf Trap Hiding in ForEach-Object
- Check PowerShell Scripts for Syntax Errors Without Running Them
- Getting the Console Width in PowerShell (Even When There Isn't One)
- Audit a Windows Service Across Many Computers with PowerShell
File wrangling
Moving, archiving, comparing and organizing big piles of files without losing any.
- Flatten a Messy Media Library into A-Z Bucket Folders
- Zip Up Folders Nobody Has Touched in Months
- Move a List of Folders to a New Drive with PowerShell and Robocopy
- Check Whether Two Files (or Two Folders) Are Really Identical
Building this notebook
How this site was made: the rebuild, the CMS, fonts, security headers and the small features.
The WordPress toolbox
WP-CLI, the REST API, backups, the database and locking down admin accounts, all checked against the current docs.
- WP-CLI: The Commands I Keep Coming Back To
- The WordPress REST API Without a Plugin: Reading, Creating and Updating Content
- Backing Up a WordPress Site from Windows with PowerShell
- Looking After a WordPress Database: Backups, Cleanup and Search-Replace Done Safely
Building with Claude and MCP
Setting up MCP servers, a CLAUDE.md that earns its keep, slash commands, the servers worth installing first, and turning a good chat into a reusable workflow.
- Setting Up MCP Servers From Scratch, and Telling When They're Broken
- A CLAUDE.md That Actually Helps
- Custom Slash Commands Worth Keeping
- Three MCP Servers I'd Install First: GitHub, Trello and a Database
Dev habits for a team of one
Starting a Python project right, updating old ones without breaking them, and a DevOps checklist sized for one person.
The retro workbench
Old TVs, old Macs and an arcade cabinet: projects that make old hardware useful again.
- Building a FieldStation42 Cable Box
- An Arcade Cabinet With a 4:3 Monitor, and Why I Went With CoinOPS on a PC
- Organizing Vintage Mac Software: How I Name and File a Classic Mac Archive
- Making a Mac OS Extended (HFS+) USB Drive on Windows with TransMac
Games and gear
Mod loadouts, handheld shopping, Steam Deck tools and one very wet VR headset.
- My Cyberpunk 2077 Mod Loadout
- Modding Shadow of Mordor in 2026
- Picking One Android Handheld for Emulation and Movies
- Quest 2 After a Swim: Stuck Boot Dot, Buzzing Controllers, and What I Tried
Console field guide
The consoles and handhelds behind the games: arcades, the TurboGrafx, Nintendo and Sega model comparisons, handheld lineages and the PlayStation's arcade shelf.
- The Golden Age of Arcades, 1978 to 1983
- The TurboGrafx-16 and PC Engine: NEC's Brilliant Middle Child
- Nintendo's Home Consoles, NES to Wii U: The Models Worth Knowing
- Original SNES or the Little 1997 One? The Two Models Compared
The emulation bench
Raspberry Pi boxes, emulation handhelds, CRT shaders, RGB mods, and keeping your own game backups safe.
- A Raspberry Pi Retro Box: What to Buy, What to Run and What It Can Handle
- Emulation Handhelds Sorted by Chip, Not by Brand
- CRT Shaders on the Steam Deck: Setting Up Mega Bezel in RetroArch
- The Steam Deck and EmuDeck Hotkeys I Actually Need
Keeping a media library tidy
Game backups, comics, manga and ebooks: renaming, de-duping and sorting big collections without losing anything.
- Fix Wrong Extensions and Find Duplicate Books in an Ebook Library
- Sort a Comic or Manga Library into Genre Folders from a CSV
- Clean Up Game File Names Without Losing the Tags That Matter
- My ROM Naming Convention: Genre Codes Up Front, Region at the Back
Tools for the writing desk
Small scripts for the novel side of life: word counts by chapter and clean Kindle-ready files from Markdown.
Changing how the model answers
Prompts that change the voice and discipline of an AI's replies: terse, strict, sourced, and less obviously machine-written.
Prompts that hold up a mirror
Profile, contradiction and pattern prompts, tuned to show their receipts instead of flattering you.
Prompts for plans, apps and side hustles
Big strategy prompts, what their theatrical framing actually buys you, and a few small everyday helpers.
- God Mode: A Theatrical Prompt That Still Earns Its Keep
- The App Builder Prompt: From Idea to Spec in One Pass
- The Growth Engine Prompt: Turning Skills Into a Side-Income Plan
- The Life OS Prompt: A Chief of Staff in a Chat Window
The reference shelf
Lists I keep coming back to: AI tools by job, drawing references, and the cover sizes for every disc case on the shelf.
- An AI Tools Directory: Video, Voice, Images, Writing and SEO
- Art and Drawing References: A Palette, a Type Pairing and a Folder of One-Page Tutorials
- DVD, Blu-ray and Game Case Cover Dimensions, Plus Where to Find Covers
- Air Fryer Cheat Sheet
Troubleshooting notes
Specific, slightly odd problems and how to run them down: RADIUS handing out DNS, and Azure Files errors that could be the SDK or your code.
Projects
9 threadsArchive conversion workshop
Test, convert and tidy up ZIP, 7z, RAR and comic archives with 7-Zip and PowerShell.
Building this notebook
How this site was made: the rebuild, the CMS, fonts, security headers and the small features.
The design notebook
Where the look comes from: '90s computer ads, Vignelli's rules, borrowed palettes and Kaybl.
- The '90s Computer-Ad Look, Without Faking an Operating System
- Designing with Vignelli's Rules
- Borrowing a Palette from a Reading App
- Kaybl: One Cable Guide, Three Screens
Building a site for someone
How I run a website project for someone else: the questions first, the timeline, a one-page layout and the words.
Building G8KEPR
What my security startup does, why it's built the way it is, and what it's like building it alone.
- What G8KEPR Is, in Plain English
- Four Checkpoints on One Request: The G8KEPR Pillars
- MCP Tool Poisoning, and Why G8KEPR Fingerprints Every Tool
- No LLM-as-Judge: Why G8KEPR Uses Regex and Classical ML
The retro workbench
Old TVs, old Macs and an arcade cabinet: projects that make old hardware useful again.
Games and gear
Mod loadouts, handheld shopping, Steam Deck tools and one very wet VR headset.
Desktop tinkering
Small tools for everyday annoyances: browser profile icons, a better new-tab page, moving YouTube subscriptions and keeping an eye on eBay prices.
- eBay Auction Scraper: A Quick Look at What Things Are Going For
- YouTube Subscription Copier: Moving Your Channels to a New Google Account
- Custom Homepage: A New Tab Page With Unsplash Photos and Real Thumbnails
- Browser Profile Icons: Telling Your Chrome, Edge and Firefox Profiles Apart at a Glance
App experiments
Bigger app ideas I've built out to see if they hold up: a dashboard builder, a smarter storage concept and a news reader for the terminal.
Writing
5 threadsThe Art of Wander
A book in progress about why good things reach a flourish and then get optimized to death, and the benchmark I built to test the idea.
Notes on the novels
The story behind each book on the site: what it's about, where it came from, how the drafts changed and what's still broken.
- The Starship Ginsberg: A Teen Movie on a Ship That Won't Be Optimized
- Night Swimming: Flashlights, Y2K and Something Old in the Springs
- Alas, Dreamland: A Love Triangle, a Lion and the Night Coney Island Burned
- Falling Stars: An Early Draft, Posted While the Rewrite Happens
The ideas drawer
The stories I've planned but haven't written yet, from a 1994 Seoul rom-com to a game about one soldier with seven bodies, with an honest note on how far along each one is.
- Continue?: A Teen Rom-Com Set in 1994 Seoul
- Synchronicity: Teenage Time Pilots and the Older Self Hunting Them
- I Am Legion: A Game About One Soldier With Seven Bodies
- Three Short Stories I Haven't Written Yet
The songbook
Lyric sheets and chord charts for the songs I've written, and the eleven-phase process that gets a song from a drum beat to a master.
From the journal
Old journal entries, filled out a little: small moments that stuck, and what they turned out to mean.
Life & Interests
18 threadsThe breakfast fundamentals
Eggs, pancakes, hash browns and gravy: the griddle basics everything else is built on.
+ 1 more in this thread ↗Games and gear
Mod loadouts, handheld shopping, Steam Deck tools and one very wet VR headset.
The PlayStation shelf
PS3 heavy hitters, hidden gems and forgotten favorites, and the PS4 games I own and still want to play.
- The PS3 Heavy Hitters I Still Haven't Played
- PS3 Hidden Gems: The Games That Deserved a Bigger Crowd
- Forgotten by Time, Still Good: PS3 Games That Fell Out of the Conversation
- The PS4 Was Quietly a Great Shoot-'Em-Up Console
Hash brown school
Shredded, tots, casseroles and home fries: every way I put potatoes on a griddle.
+ 3 more in this thread ↗The omelet station
Ring omelets, cheese omelets and a few that get a little out of hand.
+ 1 more in this thread ↗Hashes and scrambles
One-pan breakfasts with a lot going on: sweet potato, southwestern, bacon and goat cheese.
Big breakfasts and sandwiches
The full spread, the Irish version, camping tacos and breakfast between bread.
- The Full Griddle Breakfast
- Irish Breakfast
- Easy Camping Breakfast Tacos
- The B.E.L.T. (BLT & Egg Sandwich)
Something sweet
Pancakes gone fancy, griddle cinnamon rolls, candied bacon and Gram's white cake.
Microwave muffins and mug cakes
Single-serve protein muffins, loaves and pancake bowls that go from bowl to done in about two minutes.
+ 16 more in this thread ↗Protein cookies, cheesecakes and bites
Cookies, brownies, cheesecake cups and no-bake bites that hit the sweet tooth and still bring the protein.
- Blueberry Scone Cookies
- Chocolate Chip Protein Cookies (Microwave)
- Chocolate Strawberry Protein Brownie
- Old-Fashioned Mini Donut Bites
Air fryer weeknights
Salmon, shrimp, wings, tenders and whole dinners out of one basket, most of them in under half an hour.
- Air Fryer BBQ Chicken with Sweet Potato Fries
- Air Fryer Buffalo Chicken Zucchini Skins
- Air Fryer Chicken Bellagio
- Air Fryer Chicken Tenders
Drive-thru copycats, lightened up
Chalupas, Big Macs, Popeyes tenders and school pizza, rebuilt at home with more protein and less regret.
- Taco Bell-Style Chalupas, Lighter
- Popeyes-Style Chicken Tenders, Baked
- Chipotle-Style Burrito Bowl at Home
- Big Mac-Style Sloppy Joes
Low-carb mornings
Egg cups, frittatas, skillets, waffles and keto pancakes for mornings when toast is off the table.
+ 17 more in this thread ↗Bowls, salads and wraps
Lunches that come together in one bowl or one tortilla, most of them built on leftover chicken.
+ 16 more in this thread ↗Out of the casserole dish
Lasagna, enchiladas, tater tot casserole and chicken bakes: one pan in, dinner for days out.
- Lighter Cheeseburger Pie
- Chicken and Broccoli Casserole
- Chicken Parmesan Casserole
- Four-Ingredient Enchilada Casserole
Weeknight dinners
Skillet chicken, shrimp stir fry, fried rice and sheet-pan jambalaya for nights with forty minutes and no plan.
- Philly Cheesesteak Pasta
- High-Protein Pasta Primavera
- Spaghetti and Turkey Meatballs
- Creamy Mushroom Chicken
Soups, chili and the slow cooker
Buffalo chicken soup, lasagna soup, white chicken chili and a shrimp boil that cooks itself.
+ 2 more in this thread ↗The shake shelf
Protein shakes that taste like dessert: cheesecake, lemon loaf, Snickers, cookies and coffee, grouped by flavor.
- Berry Cheesecake Protein Shakes
- Bakery-Style Protein Shakes
- Lemon Loaf and Shortcake Protein Shakes
- Chocolate and Peanut Butter Protein Shakes