Writing by Ian Monroe on web development, technology, and things I find interesting.https://www.ianmonroe.com/en-ushttps://www.ianmonroe.com/blog/2026-09-15-kicking-it-old-schoole/https://www.ianmonroe.com/blog/2026-09-15-kicking-it-old-schoole/Pulling stuff out of the memory hole.Tue, 15 Sep 2026 00:00:00 GMThttps://www.ianmonroe.com/blog/2026-08-24-webview-ua-override/https://www.ianmonroe.com/blog/2026-08-24-webview-ua-override/My first Obsidian plugin — a tiny patch that gets Google sign-in working inside Obsidian's Web Viewer by routing web views through a clean Electron session.Mon, 24 Aug 2026 00:00:00 GMThttps://www.ianmonroe.com/blog/2026-08-16-soupmaster/https://www.ianmonroe.com/blog/2026-08-16-soupmaster/For the fifth time, I guessed the correct soup.Sun, 16 Aug 2026 00:00:00 GMThttps://www.ianmonroe.com/blog/2026-07-31-water-freezing-boiling/https://www.ianmonroe.com/blog/2026-07-31-water-freezing-boiling/Water freezes at zero and boils at a hundred — the first thing every kid learns about science. Look closer and it dissolves into isotopes, dissolved air, pressure, and a bottle of water that costs more than a house.Fri, 31 Jul 2026 00:00:00 GMThttps://www.ianmonroe.com/blog/2026-07-01-homelab/https://www.ianmonroe.com/blog/2026-07-01-homelab/A Docker Compose starter kit that takes a spare machine from bare metal to a fully wired self-hosted stack — reverse proxy, SSO, and a menu of apps — in minutes.Wed, 01 Jul 2026 00:00:00 GMThttps://www.ianmonroe.com/blog/2026-06-25-openhearth/https://www.ianmonroe.com/blog/2026-06-25-openhearth/A self-hosted, Docker-based streaming hub with a TV-optimized interface — a Roku-style home screen you own end to end.Thu, 25 Jun 2026 00:00:00 GMThttps://www.ianmonroe.com/blog/2026-05-31-second-votegov/https://www.ianmonroe.com/blog/2026-05-31-second-votegov/A meticulously sourced investigation into the National Design Studio that deserves a wider audience than its technical surface will get it.Sun, 31 May 2026 18:00:00 GMThttps://www.ianmonroe.com/blog/2026-05-31-vacation-headshot/https://www.ianmonroe.com/blog/2026-05-31-vacation-headshot/I thought this picture came out nice, so I'm posting it.Sun, 31 May 2026 12:00:00 GMThttps://www.ianmonroe.com/blog/2026-05-26-memserv/https://www.ianmonroe.com/blog/2026-05-26-memserv/A self-hosted memory server for AI agents, speaking both REST and MCP, that I put together over the Memorial Day weekend.Tue, 26 May 2026 00:00:00 GMThttps://www.ianmonroe.com/blog/2026-05-11-feeclear/https://www.ianmonroe.com/blog/2026-05-11-feeclear/A little side project for screening junk fees and drip-pricing — a free risk assessment, plus a paid PDF report if you want the details.Mon, 11 May 2026 00:00:00 GMThttps://www.ianmonroe.com/blog/2026-04-29-evergreen-fastball/https://www.ianmonroe.com/blog/2026-04-29-evergreen-fastball/A new little open source tool I built for capturing quick notes against any of your Obsidian projects in a single keystroke.Wed, 29 Apr 2026 00:00:00 GMThttps://www.ianmonroe.com/blog/2026-02-20-un-dei/https://www.ianmonroe.com/blog/2026-02-20-un-dei/After many years, I've finally updated the software and content for this site.Wed, 15 Apr 2026 00:00:00 GMThttps://www.ianmonroe.com/blog/2025-01-22-backrooms-or-liminal-rules-everything-around-me-in-2025/https://www.ianmonroe.com/blog/2025-01-22-backrooms-or-liminal-rules-everything-around-me-in-2025/import { YouTube } from 'astro-embed';Wed, 22 Jan 2025 16:27:06 GMThttps://www.ianmonroe.com/blog/2024-09-30-my-father-has-passed-away/https://www.ianmonroe.com/blog/2024-09-30-my-father-has-passed-away/I’m very sorry to report that my father, Malcolm L. Monroe, passed away due to natural causes on September 21, 2024.Mon, 30 Sep 2024 11:50:06 GMThttps://www.ianmonroe.com/blog/2023-03-17-i-am-a-soup-master/https://www.ianmonroe.com/blog/2023-03-17-i-am-a-soup-master/Ok, so this happened last night.Fri, 17 Mar 2023 10:44:05 GMThttps://www.ianmonroe.com/blog/2022-12-09-homeassistant-and-zigbee2mqtt-on-a-qnap-nas-usb-dongle/https://www.ianmonroe.com/blog/2022-12-09-homeassistant-and-zigbee2mqtt-on-a-qnap-nas-usb-dongle/I’ve been recently playing with getting Zigbee2MQTT working on my QNAP network attached storage device, and I ran into an interesting problem.Fri, 09 Dec 2022 12:51:07 GMThttps://www.ianmonroe.com/blog/2018-02-09-live-paintings-one-of-the-things-i-love-about-the-internet/https://www.ianmonroe.com/blog/2018-02-09-live-paintings-one-of-the-things-i-love-about-the-internet/import { YouTube } from 'astro-embed';Fri, 09 Feb 2018 12:58:52 GMThttps://www.ianmonroe.com/blog/2017-03-09-things-i-currently-think-are-pretty-great-march-2017/https://www.ianmonroe.com/blog/2017-03-09-things-i-currently-think-are-pretty-great-march-2017/Things I currently think are pretty great, March 2017Thu, 09 Mar 2017 22:52:58 GMThttps://www.ianmonroe.com/blog/2017-01-17-you-really-should-install-signal-on-your-phone-seriously/https://www.ianmonroe.com/blog/2017-01-17-you-really-should-install-signal-on-your-phone-seriously/Signal is a privacy and security app that replaces your built-in SMS/text message software. It seamlessly handles your text messages for you, just like you’reTue, 17 Jan 2017 12:54:59 GMThttps://www.ianmonroe.com/blog/2015-06-30-home-cooking-for-the-savvy-bachelor-duck-two-ways/https://www.ianmonroe.com/blog/2015-06-30-home-cooking-for-the-savvy-bachelor-duck-two-ways/So if you’re looking for a meal that you can cook at home, which isn’t too hard in terms of technique or ingredients, but which will strike your friends asTue, 30 Jun 2015 13:52:55 GMThttps://www.ianmonroe.com/blog/2015-05-20-home-cooking-for-the-savvy-bachelor-hamburgers-without/https://www.ianmonroe.com/blog/2015-05-20-home-cooking-for-the-savvy-bachelor-hamburgers-without/If you’re like me, you’ve made hamburgers or cheeseburgers at home plenty of times. And, if you’re like me, you’ve learned to unplug the battery from the smokeWed, 20 May 2015 10:31:14 GMThttps://www.ianmonroe.com/blog/2015-03-27-i-watched-gods-not-dead-so-you-dont-have-to-no-seriously/https://www.ianmonroe.com/blog/2015-03-27-i-watched-gods-not-dead-so-you-dont-have-to-no-seriously/So the story is essentially thus: A kid is a freshman in college, and signs up for an introductory undergrad philosophy class. The teacher of said class, as heFri, 27 Mar 2015 10:38:21 GMThttps://www.ianmonroe.com/blog/2014-11-08-camping-trip/https://www.ianmonroe.com/blog/2014-11-08-camping-trip/I’ve been on a relaxing vacation for the last couple of weeks, and I figured a fun thing to do would be to go out camping and enjoy a little peace and quietSat, 08 Nov 2014 14:39:31 GMThttps://www.ianmonroe.com/blog/2014-06-02-another-year-down/https://www.ianmonroe.com/blog/2014-06-02-another-year-down/Another year has come and gone.Mon, 02 Jun 2014 10:33:15 GMThttps://www.ianmonroe.com/blog/2014-01-21-self-portrait-january-2014/https://www.ianmonroe.com/blog/2014-01-21-self-portrait-january-2014/Self-portrait, January 2014Tue, 21 Jan 2014 13:22:38 GMThttps://www.ianmonroe.com/blog/2013-10-30-never-mind-the-whys-bub/https://www.ianmonroe.com/blog/2013-10-30-never-mind-the-whys-bub/Never mind the “why’s,” Bub.Wed, 30 Oct 2013 12:21:16 GMThttps://www.ianmonroe.com/blog/2013-09-12-bathroom-mirror-selfie/https://www.ianmonroe.com/blog/2013-09-12-bathroom-mirror-selfie/A self-portrait, 9/12/2013.Thu, 12 Sep 2013 22:07:10 GMThttps://www.ianmonroe.com/blog/2013-08-19-home-cooking-for-the-savvy-bachelor-kraft-dinner-edition/https://www.ianmonroe.com/blog/2013-08-19-home-cooking-for-the-savvy-bachelor-kraft-dinner-edition/Look, let’s not lie to each other. Sometimes humans eat Kraft Macaroni and Cheese. (Kraft Dinner, if you live in a country that cares about the proper statusMon, 19 Aug 2013 19:56:00 GMThttps://www.ianmonroe.com/blog/2013-04-03-hows-that-republican-rebranding-going/https://www.ianmonroe.com/blog/2013-04-03-hows-that-republican-rebranding-going/Frankly, I don’t think they’re concerned with smaller government, lower taxes, or personal freedom at all. :(Wed, 03 Apr 2013 15:07:57 GMThttps://www.ianmonroe.com/blog/2013-03-05-you-got-chocolate-in-my-horse-meat/https://www.ianmonroe.com/blog/2013-03-05-you-got-chocolate-in-my-horse-meat/You got horse meat in my peanut butter!Tue, 05 Mar 2013 16:03:40 GMThttps://www.ianmonroe.com/blog/2012-12-18-great-cups-and-balls-routine/https://www.ianmonroe.com/blog/2012-12-18-great-cups-and-balls-routine/Nothing like a fresh take on a classic.Tue, 18 Dec 2012 17:20:32 GMThttps://www.ianmonroe.com/blog/2012-10-31-happy-halloween-friends/https://www.ianmonroe.com/blog/2012-10-31-happy-halloween-friends/Happy Halloween, friends!Wed, 31 Oct 2012 22:59:07 GMThttps://www.ianmonroe.com/blog/2012-10-24-you-know-its-a-good-day/https://www.ianmonroe.com/blog/2012-10-24-you-know-its-a-good-day/ Wed, 24 Oct 2012 10:25:13 GMThttps://www.ianmonroe.com/blog/2012-10-15-everything-looks-better-in-time-lapse-mode/https://www.ianmonroe.com/blog/2012-10-15-everything-looks-better-in-time-lapse-mode/ Mon, 15 Oct 2012 14:57:24 GMThttps://www.ianmonroe.com/blog/2012-05-20-thoughts-on-the-anti-nato-rally-in-chicago-today/https://www.ianmonroe.com/blog/2012-05-20-thoughts-on-the-anti-nato-rally-in-chicago-today/I went down to Grant Park for the Coalition Against NATO/G8 rally at noon today, and I took a bunch of pictures, but I didn’t stick around for the whole marchSun, 20 May 2012 19:44:51 GMThttps://www.ianmonroe.com/blog/2012-02-27-creativity-theory-everything-is-a-remix/https://www.ianmonroe.com/blog/2012-02-27-creativity-theory-everything-is-a-remix/ Mon, 27 Feb 2012 10:50:17 GMThttps://www.ianmonroe.com/blog/2011-10-05-science-and-beauty/https://www.ianmonroe.com/blog/2011-10-05-science-and-beauty/ Wed, 05 Oct 2011 09:57:18 GMThttps://www.ianmonroe.com/blog/2011-02-01-crappy-taxidermy-great-art/https://www.ianmonroe.com/blog/2011-02-01-crappy-taxidermy-great-art/This is beautiful.Tue, 01 Feb 2011 21:17:48 GMThttps://www.ianmonroe.com/blog/2010-08-02-ucf-today-former-e2-80-98dr-g-e2-80-99-cast-member-becomes/https://www.ianmonroe.com/blog/2010-08-02-ucf-today-former-e2-80-98dr-g-e2-80-99-cast-member-becomes/The University of Central Florida (my undergrad alma mater) has some kind words about my little sister, Arden, who’s about to graduate from their nursingMon, 02 Aug 2010 14:49:49 GMThttps://www.ianmonroe.com/blog/2010-05-18-cognitive-biases-an-illustrated-study-guide/https://www.ianmonroe.com/blog/2010-05-18-cognitive-biases-an-illustrated-study-guide/This is an extremely useful study guide to help you remember what kinds of biases can effect your decision-making skills. All of us are subject to theseTue, 18 May 2010 09:23:45 GMT