2012 New Year update.

No, I haven’t gone anywhere.  I’ve just been letting my poor site languish without adequate attention for lo these many moons now.  I’ll try to to do better in 2012. Some recent highlights: I moved to a new place, still in the Rogers Park neighborhood in Chicago.  This is a Really Good Thing, since now … Read more

Need to strip stop-words from some text?

After having three different requests in the past couple of weeks which required me to strip stop words from a bunch of text, I decided there should be an easy way to do it online really quickly. So I made one. Try it out here: http://www.ianmonroe.com/stopstrip/ Why is it useful?  Well, perhaps you’re taking a … Read more

American Horror Story, you know what I love.

So, I’m sure by now you’re aware of the new FX show, American Horror Story. It’s set to begin next week. Well, FX decided to embark on a viral campaign for the show, using the site youregoingtodieinthere.com.  And I signed up with them a while back, to keep up with the project. And this morning, … Read more

Android tablets — almost there.

I like tablet form factors, I really do.  I’d love to get one, but they don’t quite make my kind yet. I need, need, need for there to be a stylus.  I’m a doodler.  Handwriting recognition is also a must. I need it to be Android 3.1 or higher An 8″ screen is about optimal, … Read more

Securing your passwords, across machines, across platforms, in the cloud

Look, I’m a tech guy. I work on a lot of computers. I work on a lot of web sites. I try out new web services and products all the time. I pay my bills online, I bank online, and to a great extent, much of my life and work is preserved online. I have … Read more

Why I’m never going to buy a Groupon

Does this look like good business to you? Photo via Techcrunch

A couple of evenings ago, I went to a little spot around the corner from my house, here in the far north side of Chicago.  It’s a friendly little place, and I like it quite a bit — their prices are fair, their food is decent, and some of the folks on staff recognize me and say ‘hi’ when I come in.  What’s even better is that they have a nice selection of microbrews, scotches, and even some really rare stuff from time to time.

So, I’m sitting at the bar, enjoying a burger and a Guinness, and a fellow comes in and stands next to me while he collects his order from the bartender.  He’d ordered a to-go order of some sort of food, and I noticed he was using a Groupon to help pay for it.

“So,” I asked the bartender, “what are your thoughts on the whole Groupon thing?”

The bartender surprised me with his reply.  “It may well put us out of business,” he said.

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