# Ivan's IO
> Snippets and learnings.
Public Ghost content for AI and LLM tooling. Use `/llms-full.txt` for consolidated page and post context.
Append `.md` to any post or page URL to get the content in Markdown (for example, `/example-post.md`).

## Pages
- [About](https://ivans.io/about-2.md) - Welcome to Ivan's IO! This blog is an experiment with lightweight blogging in short form. I already have a long-form blog at https://blog.ivansmirnov.name/, but those articles are meaty and take a while to polish and publish. My intent with this space is to cultivate a more simple and direct postin…
- [About this site](https://ivans.io/about.md) - Ivan's IO is an independent publication launched in December 2022 by Ivan Smirnov. If you subscribe today, you'll get full access to the website as well as email newsletters about new content when it's available. Your subscription makes this site possible, and allows Ivan's IO to continue to exist.…

## Posts
- [Block Device Passthrough to Docker guest on Proxmox LXC](https://ivans.io/block-device-passthrough-to-docker-guest-on-proxmox-lxc.md) - I run Proxmox on my homelab server, with one of my LXC's running a docker engine with all of my smallworkloads. Recetnly, I needed to pass through block devices (/dev/sda , etc) to a docker container so that I could monitor SMART status (using scrutiny). Since the docker engine is running on an LXC…
- [The Roller Coaster of Life](https://ivans.io/the-rollercoaster-of-life.md) - Do you ever have days where you just get stuck in these hopeless spirals wondering what you've actually accomplished with your life?
- [Introduction to Web Serials](https://ivans.io/introduction-to-web-serials.md) - I love reading - since an early age I have devoured every single book that I could get my hands on. To this day, reading is my activity of choice to wind down after a long day of hard work. While there's many incredible published books out there, today I'd like to talk about Web Serials. What is a…
- [Visited Countries](https://ivans.io/visited-countries.md) - As a followup to https://ivans.io/visited-countries/, here's a map of all the countries I've been to: Create your own visited countries map or check out the JavaScript Charts.
- [Speeding up git operations for CI/CD](https://ivans.io/speeding-up-git-operations-for-ci-cd.md) - I recently found myself undergoing an epic journey to speed up our CICD builds at work. After some initial digging, I found that our git clone operations were taking 3 minutes and pulling 2gb of data, just to test a tiny Golang binary (3,500 LoC, 20mb). With some easy tweaks, I was able to reduce o…
- [Acknowledge the Truths in Your Reality](https://ivans.io/acknowledge-the-truths-in-your-reality.md) - I had an interesting situation come up in my life recently, where I caught myself being highly irrational. It took me some time to work through it, but today I'm ready to share the story and the lessons I gained. A Blurry World I've had terrible vision since as early as I can remember. By age 7 I w…
- [Jump Start a Car When Alone](https://ivans.io/jump-start-a-car-when-alone.md) - Earlier this year, I took a 6 month road trip through most of America. You can see the path I took on https://ivans.io/visited-states/. While on that epic adventure, I had my car battery die on me a few times. Once it was due to the cold, and the other few times were due to vampire power draw by my…
- [Random Life Tips](https://ivans.io/random-life-tips.md) - This is a tiny post with an assortment of life tips. I use these every day, and I've had enough people express amazement at some of these that I decided to write them up and share them. I'll try to come back here and add to the list once in a while. 1. Hold your keys in your left hand while closing…
- [Simple Mobile File Access](https://ivans.io/filerun.md) - Once in a while I need to access my documents from my phone. When using Android, I was able to use Solid Explorer paired with ZeroTier to log in remotely to my SMB share on my home server. After moving to iOS, I have yet to discover a files app that is able to transfer any files reliably. I've trie…
- [Single Landing Page](https://ivans.io/single-landing-page.md) - As I generate more content online, I find myself having to keep an index and try to remember what lives where. I set up a large number of short links using YOURLS on https://smirnov.link, but that doesn't solve the problem of having a single landing page of my online content. After some light diggi…
- [Easy Docker Updates with docker-tag-yoinker](https://ivans.io/docker-tag-yoinker.md) - I run a large number of docker containers on my two personal servers. It's safer to have the deployments pinned to a specific tag, but manually updating the tags can get tedious. For each image, you have to check the Docker Hub, figure out which tag you want and then update your deployments. Enter…
- [Taming Junk Paper Mail](https://ivans.io/taming-paper-junk-mail.md) - Opening your mailbox and seeing a flood of junk fall out has become so normal that we don't even notice it. Odds are there is a recycling bin next to your mail room and you unconsciously dump all the random junk you get into that bin. Luckily, there are a few tricks that we can do to stop getting s…
- [Taming Email Newsletters with RSS](https://ivans.io/taming-email-newsletters-with-rss.md) - Taming the messy inbox Over the years I've accumulated a large number of email subscriptions. The main problem with this approach is that there are actionable emails (reminders to pay bills, requests for advice, etc) mixed in with asynchronous knowledge consumption packets (newsletters and updates)…
- [Adulting App](https://ivans.io/adulting-app.md) - I recently stumbled upon https://www.realworld.co/ - an app that helps young adults understand the basics of common "adulting" challenges, and provides specific action items. This is similar to the financial course I would like to build one day. In the meantime, check out this app! I took a glance…
- [Visited States](https://ivans.io/visited-states.md) - It's always fun to see charts or graphs of my past exploits. I wanted to see which states I've seen so far as an adult. Using AmCharts.com, we can generate a nifty map: Create your own visited states map or check out the JavaScript Charts. What about you? Where have you been, and what's next on you…
- [Investing Starter Kit](https://ivans.io/investing-starter-kit.md) - I strongly believe that access to financial knowledge should be universal. Personal finance is often viewed as a scary or taboo topic, but it really doesn't have to be. All of the knowledge is out there, and everyone deserves to be wealthy. Here are some starter resources to get you started on your…
- [YNAB Podcast Guest](https://ivans.io/ynab-podcast-guest.md) - I was recently hosted on the YNAB Podcast where I had an awesome chat with Jessse Mecham (the founder) and Daniel Chen (my mentor). We covered a plethora of topics - please enjoy our content! Video: High-Income Earners Using YNABJesse chats with two people that are passionate about personal finance…
- [Just Ask](https://ivans.io/just-ask.md) - I had an interesting phone call with a hotel chain the other day, where I called to politely express some concerns I had with my experience. There was a massive voltage surge that fried all the lights, so I had to move out by flashlight late at night into a different room. The conversation went rou…
- [One Handed Typing](https://ivans.io/one-handed-typing.md) - A short while back I had a small sports accident and injured my left thumb quite badly, to the point that my left hand needs to be left alone to heal. As a software engineer, this presents a major challenge. I decided to look into one handed typing layouts. Mechanical Keyboards have been making hug…
- [My Top Book Recommendations](https://ivans.io/my-top-book-recommendations.md) - I deeply enjoy reading books. Here's a short list of some of my favorites. Non Fiction Every book on this list has changed my life in a pivotal manner. I invite you to read them for yourself and hope it brings about positive change for you as well. * How to Win friends and Influence People by Dale…
- [CyberPro Podcast Guest](https://ivans.io/cyberpro-podcast-guest.md) - I had a chance to be hosted on the CyberPro Podcast recently. We had a fun chat about cyber security, continuous learning, and retro technology. It's 5 questions in 9 minutes - enjoy! You can find it on: * LinkedIn * PodBean * Apple Podcasts * YouTube * Twitter
- [Credit Card Points Hacking with PayPal Key](https://ivans.io/credit-card-points-hacking-with-paypal-key.md) - I maintain several credit cards which yield good points rewards if used well. For many years now, I've really wanted to be able to pay my rent with my credit card. Unfortunately, most providers will pass along the 3% network charge fee directly to you. There are a few companies that offer virtual d…
- [Reflections on Mindset and Framing](https://ivans.io/reflections-on-mindset-and-framing.md) - I recently had a chance to visit the Carlsbad Caverns in New Mexico. It's a curious system of caves with various stalactites and stalagmites and interesting rock formations, located in the ancient seabed in the mountains. I found the experience enjoyable, but at times it felt slightly underwhelming…
- [Solving Cooking Once and For All](https://ivans.io/solving-cooking-once-and-for-all.md) - Experiments with meal kits and instant pots lead to sunday meal prep with frozen bags.
- [Better Status Bar for MacOS](https://ivans.io/better-status-bar-for-macos.md) - Combine Ubersicht, Yabai, SKHD and Simple-Bar for an awesome MacOS menu bar.
- [Fixing DNS for Wireguard on MacOS](https://ivans.io/wireguard-on-macos.md) - Fix wireguard DNS resolution on MacOS with PostUp and PostDown + CLI usage.
- [Abusing Public DNS for Zerotier Routing](https://ivans.io/abusing-public-dns-for-zerotier-routing.md) - Picking a Mesh VPN I've been a big fan of mesh VPNs for many years now. It's great to not have to deal with Strongswan or OpenVPN on a central server. Mesh VPN's also come with intelligent routing, so if both of my devices are at home on the same network they will dial each other directly. This con…
- [Interview Resources](https://ivans.io/interview-resources.md) - I recently went through the interview prep process as I prepared to leave Google and find a new position. These are the resources that I used that helped me land my current role at Stripe. Action Log * Solve every problem in the https://www.interviewcake.com/ * Do at least 10 mock coding interviews…
- [Just Do It](https://ivans.io/just-do-it.md) - What are you holding yourself back from right now? Go do it.

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