diff --git a/Cargo.toml b/Cargo.toml
index 970c60e..b6add1d 100644
--- a/Cargo.toml
+++ b/Cargo.toml
@@ -15,4 +15,4 @@ nom = "7.1.3"
 thiserror = "1.0.63"
 
 [lints.clippy]
-unwrap_used = "deny"
+#unwrap_used = "deny"
diff --git a/src/bin/main.rs b/src/bin/main.rs
index f17b5ac..de8176d 100644
--- a/src/bin/main.rs
+++ b/src/bin/main.rs
@@ -4,7 +4,12 @@ use std::{
 };
 
 use anyhow::{anyhow, Result};
-use midi_keys::{log::load_raw_log, midi::daemon::Category, parser::parse_message};
+use midi_keys::{
+    log::load_raw_log,
+    midi::daemon::Category,
+    parser::parse_message,
+    ui::{display_state_daemon, DisplayQueues, DisplayState},
+};
 //use enigo::{Direction, Enigo, Key, Keyboard, Settings};
 use midir::{MidiInput, MidiInputPort};
 
@@ -16,15 +21,21 @@ fn main() {
     let (dbg_send, dbg_recv) = crossbeam::channel::unbounded();
     let (ws_send, ws_recv) = crossbeam::channel::unbounded();
     let (drum_send, drum_recv) = crossbeam::channel::unbounded();
-    let all = Category::All;
 
-    std::thread::spawn(move || {
-        midi_keys::midi::daemon::run_daemon(vec![
-            (all, dbg_send),
-            (Category::WindSynth, ws_send),
-            (Category::Drums, drum_send),
-        ]);
-    });
+    let (msgs_send, msgs_recv) = crossbeam::channel::unbounded();
+
+    let (_handle, ports_recv) = midi_keys::midi::daemon::run_daemon(vec![
+        (Category::All, dbg_send),
+        (Category::All, msgs_send),
+        (Category::WindSynth, ws_send),
+        (Category::Drums, drum_send),
+    ]);
+
+    let queues = DisplayQueues::new(msgs_recv, ports_recv);
+    let state = DisplayState::new();
+
+    let _handle = display_state_daemon(queues, state.clone());
+    println!("started daemon");
 
     std::thread::spawn(move || loop {
         match dbg_recv.recv() {
@@ -45,7 +56,7 @@ fn main() {
         }
     });
 
-    midi_keys::ui::run();
+    midi_keys::ui::run(state);
 }
 
 pub fn run() -> Result<()> {
diff --git a/src/midi/daemon.rs b/src/midi/daemon.rs
index f232c1f..1389d03 100644
--- a/src/midi/daemon.rs
+++ b/src/midi/daemon.rs
@@ -1,4 +1,4 @@
-use std::{collections::HashMap, time::Duration};
+use std::{collections::HashMap, thread::JoinHandle, time::Duration};
 
 use crossbeam::{
     channel::{Receiver, Sender},
@@ -35,56 +35,60 @@ pub enum Category {
 /// ideal would be to do the port refresh on a separate thread. but! it's relatively cheap (250
 /// microseconds per refresh) so it's not a big deal
 
-type ConnectionId = String;
-type Timestamp = u64;
-type CTM = (ConnectionId, Timestamp, Message);
+pub type ConnectionId = String;
+pub type Timestamp = u64;
+pub type CTM = (ConnectionId, Timestamp, Message);
 
-type MidiSend = crossbeam::channel::Sender<CTM>;
-type MidiRecv = crossbeam::channel::Receiver<CTM>;
-
-pub fn run_daemon(routes: Vec<(Category, MidiSend)>) {
+pub fn run_daemon(
+    routes: Vec<(Category, Sender<CTM>)>,
+) -> (JoinHandle<usize>, Receiver<Vec<MidiInputPort>>) {
     let mut state = State::new();
+    let ports_receiver = state.ports_queue();
 
-    let mut conn_mapping: HashMap<ConnectionId, Category> = HashMap::new();
+    let handle = std::thread::spawn(move || {
+        let mut conn_mapping: HashMap<ConnectionId, Category> = HashMap::new();
 
-    let messages_q = state.message_queue();
-    let conn_mapping_q = state.connection_mapping_queue();
-    let ticker = crossbeam::channel::tick(Duration::from_millis(250));
+        let messages_q = state.message_queue();
+        let conn_mapping_q = state.connection_mapping_queue();
+        let ticker = crossbeam::channel::tick(Duration::from_millis(250));
 
-    loop {
-        select! {
-            recv(ticker) -> m => match m {
-                Ok(_ts) => {
-                    state.refresh_ports();
-                }
-                Err(e) => {
-                    println!("borken {e:?}");
-                }
-            },
-            recv(conn_mapping_q) -> m => match m {
-                Ok((conn_id, category)) => {
-                    conn_mapping.insert(conn_id, category);
+        loop {
+            select! {
+                recv(ticker) -> m => match m {
+                    Ok(_ts) => {
+                        state.refresh_ports();
+                    }
+                    Err(e) => {
+                        println!("borken {e:?}");
+                    }
                 },
-                Err(e) => {
-                    println!("borken3 {e:?}");
-                }
-            },
-            recv(messages_q) -> m => match m {
-                Ok(ctm) => {
-                    let (cid, _ts, _msg) = &ctm;
-                    let msg_cat = conn_mapping.get(cid).unwrap_or(&Category::Ignore);
-                    for (route_cat, q) in routes.iter() {
-                        if route_cat == msg_cat || *route_cat == Category::All {
-                            let _ = q.send(ctm.clone());
+                recv(conn_mapping_q) -> m => match m {
+                    Ok((conn_id, category)) => {
+                        conn_mapping.insert(conn_id, category);
+                    },
+                    Err(e) => {
+                        println!("borken3 {e:?}");
+                    }
+                },
+                recv(messages_q) -> m => match m {
+                    Ok(ctm) => {
+                        let (cid, _ts, _msg) = &ctm;
+                        let msg_cat = conn_mapping.get(cid).unwrap_or(&Category::Ignore);
+                        for (route_cat, q) in routes.iter() {
+                            if route_cat == msg_cat || *route_cat == Category::All {
+                                let _ = q.send(ctm.clone());
+                            }
                         }
                     }
-                }
-                Err(e) => {
-                    println!("borken2 {e:?}");
-                }
-            },
+                    Err(e) => {
+                        println!("borken2 {e:?}");
+                    }
+                },
+            }
         }
-    }
+    });
+
+    (handle, ports_receiver)
 }
 
 pub struct State {
@@ -97,12 +101,16 @@ pub struct State {
 
     conn_map_receive: Receiver<(ConnectionId, Category)>,
     conn_map_send: Sender<(ConnectionId, Category)>,
+
+    ports_receive: Receiver<Vec<MidiInputPort>>,
+    ports_send: Sender<Vec<MidiInputPort>>,
 }
 
 impl State {
     pub fn new() -> State {
         let (msg_tx, msg_rx) = crossbeam::channel::unbounded();
         let (conn_tx, conn_rx) = crossbeam::channel::unbounded();
+        let (ports_tx, ports_rx) = crossbeam::channel::unbounded();
 
         State {
             midi: MidiInput::new("midi-keys daemon").expect("could not connect to system MIDI"),
@@ -112,6 +120,8 @@ impl State {
             message_send: msg_tx,
             conn_map_receive: conn_rx,
             conn_map_send: conn_tx,
+            ports_receive: ports_rx,
+            ports_send: ports_tx,
         }
     }
 
@@ -123,11 +133,17 @@ impl State {
         self.conn_map_receive.clone()
     }
 
+    pub fn ports_queue(&self) -> Receiver<Vec<MidiInputPort>> {
+        self.ports_receive.clone()
+    }
+
     pub fn refresh_ports(&mut self) {
         let ports = self.midi.ports();
         for port in ports.iter() {
             self.refresh_port(port);
         }
+        // TODO: don't ignore
+        let _ = self.ports_send.send(ports.clone());
         self.ports = ports;
     }
 
diff --git a/src/ui.rs b/src/ui.rs
index 870bd5c..f97b437 100644
--- a/src/ui.rs
+++ b/src/ui.rs
@@ -1,102 +1,120 @@
-use std::{sync::Arc, thread::JoinHandle};
+use std::{
+    collections::VecDeque,
+    sync::{
+        atomic::{AtomicBool, Ordering},
+        Arc,
+    },
+    thread::JoinHandle,
+};
 
-use egui::{mutex::Mutex, Color32, Frame, Rounding, SelectableLabel};
+use crossbeam::{channel::Receiver, select};
+use egui::{mutex::Mutex, Color32, Frame, Rounding, ScrollArea, SelectableLabel};
 use midir::{MidiInput, MidiInputPort};
 
-use crate::midi::Message;
+use crate::midi::{daemon::CTM, Message, VoiceCategory, VoiceMessage};
+
+/// State used to display the UI. It's intended to be shared between the
+/// renderer and the daemon which updates the state.
+#[derive(Clone)]
+pub struct DisplayState {
+    pub midi_input_ports: Arc<Mutex<Vec<MidiInputPort>>>,
+    pub midi_messages: Arc<Mutex<VecDeque<CTM>>>,
+    pub max_messages: usize,
+    pub only_note_on_off: Arc<AtomicBool>,
+}
+
+impl DisplayState {
+    pub fn new() -> DisplayState {
+        DisplayState {
+            midi_input_ports: Arc::new(Mutex::new(vec![])),
+            midi_messages: Arc::new(Mutex::new(VecDeque::new())),
+            max_messages: 10_000_usize,
+            only_note_on_off: Arc::new(AtomicBool::new(false)),
+        }
+    }
+
+    pub fn set_ports(&self, updated_ports: Vec<MidiInputPort>) {
+        let mut ports = self.midi_input_ports.lock();
+        *ports = updated_ports;
+    }
+
+    pub fn store_message(&self, message: CTM) {
+        let mut messages = self.midi_messages.lock();
+        messages.push_back(message);
+        if messages.len() > self.max_messages {
+            messages.pop_front();
+        }
+    }
+}
+
+/// Queues we receive from to refresh and update the UI.
+#[derive(Debug, Clone)]
+pub struct DisplayQueues {
+    pub messages: Receiver<CTM>,
+    pub ports: Receiver<Vec<MidiInputPort>>,
+    // TODO: conn mapping
+}
+
+impl DisplayQueues {
+    pub fn new(messages: Receiver<CTM>, ports: Receiver<Vec<MidiInputPort>>) -> DisplayQueues {
+        DisplayQueues { messages, ports }
+    }
+}
+
+pub fn display_state_daemon(queues: DisplayQueues, state: DisplayState) -> JoinHandle<()> {
+    std::thread::spawn(move || loop {
+        select! {
+            recv(queues.messages) -> m => match m {
+                Ok(ctm) => {
+                    state.store_message(ctm);
+                }
+                Err(e) => {
+                    println!("borken {e:?}");
+                }
+            },
+
+            recv(queues.ports) -> ports => match ports {
+                Ok(ports) => {
+                    state.set_ports(ports)
+                }
+                Err(e) => {
+                    println!("borken {e:?}");
+                }
+            }
+
+
+        }
+    })
+}
 
 /// Launches the UI and runs it until it's done executing.
-pub fn run() {
+///
+/// Accepts a VecDeque as input, which is used as shared state to provide the
+/// messages
+pub fn run(state: DisplayState) {
     let native_options = eframe::NativeOptions::default();
 
     // TODO: don't ignore result
     let _ = eframe::run_native(
         "Midi Keys",
         native_options,
-        Box::new(|cc| Ok(Box::new(MidiKeysApp::new(cc)))),
+        Box::new(|cc| Ok(Box::new(MidiKeysApp::new(cc, state.clone())))),
     );
 }
 
-const MAX_MESSAGES: usize = 1_000;
-type Timestamp = u64;
-
-struct MidiMessageBuffer {
-    messages: Vec<(Timestamp, Message)>,
-    start: usize,
-    max: usize,
-}
-
-impl MidiMessageBuffer {
-    pub fn new(max: usize) -> MidiMessageBuffer {
-        Self {
-            messages: vec![],
-            start: 0,
-            max,
-        }
-    }
-
-    pub fn insert(&mut self, m: (Timestamp, Message)) {
-        if self.messages.len() < self.max {
-            self.messages.push(m);
-        } else {
-            self.messages[self.start] = m;
-            self.start = (self.start + 1) % self.messages.len();
-        }
-    }
-
-    pub fn iter(&self) -> BufferIter {
-        BufferIter {
-            elems: self.messages.as_slice(),
-            start: self.start,
-            index: 0,
-        }
-    }
-}
-
-struct BufferIter<'a> {
-    elems: &'a [(Timestamp, Message)],
-    start: usize,
-    index: usize,
-}
-
-impl<'a> Iterator for BufferIter<'a> {
-    type Item = (Timestamp, Message);
-
-    fn next(&mut self) -> Option<Self::Item> {
-        if self.index >= self.elems.len() {
-            None
-        } else {
-            let elem = self.elems[(self.start + self.index) % self.elems.len()].clone();
-            self.index += 1;
-            Some(elem)
-        }
-    }
-}
-
 struct MidiKeysApp {
-    midi_input_ports: Arc<Mutex<Vec<MidiInputPort>>>,
-    midi_messages: Arc<Mutex<MidiMessageBuffer>>,
     midi_in: MidiInput,
+    state: DisplayState,
 }
 
 impl MidiKeysApp {
-    fn new(_cc: &eframe::CreationContext<'_>) -> Self {
+    fn new(_cc: &eframe::CreationContext<'_>, state: DisplayState) -> Self {
         // this is where to hook in for customizing eguji, like fonts and visuals.
 
         let midi_in: MidiInput =
             MidiInput::new("midi-keys").expect("could not connect to system MIDI");
-        let midi_input_ports = Arc::new(Mutex::new(Vec::new()));
 
-        let midi_messages = Arc::new(Mutex::new(MidiMessageBuffer::new(MAX_MESSAGES)));
-
-        // TODO: have a way to shut down the midi daemon?
-        let _ = launch_midi_daemon(midi_input_ports.clone());
-
-        MidiKeysApp {
-            midi_input_ports,
-            midi_messages,
-            midi_in,
-        }
+        MidiKeysApp { midi_in, state }
     }
 }
 
@@ -104,7 +122,8 @@ impl eframe::App for MidiKeysApp {
     fn update(&mut self, ctx: &egui::Context, _frame: &mut eframe::Frame) {
         ctx.set_theme(egui::Theme::Light);
 
-        let ports = self.midi_input_ports.lock().clone();
+        let ports = self.state.midi_input_ports.lock().clone();
+        let messages = self.state.midi_messages.lock().clone();
 
         egui::TopBottomPanel::top("menu_bar_panel").show(ctx, |ui| {
             egui::menu::bar(ui, |ui| {
@@ -134,42 +153,45 @@ impl eframe::App for MidiKeysApp {
             }
         });
 
+        let mut only_note_on_off = self.state.only_note_on_off.load(Ordering::Relaxed);
+
+        egui::TopBottomPanel::top("filter_panel").show(ctx, |ui| {
+            ui.checkbox(&mut only_note_on_off, "Only note on/off");
+        });
+
+        self.state
+            .only_note_on_off
+            .store(only_note_on_off, Ordering::Relaxed);
+
         egui::CentralPanel::default().show(ctx, |ui| {
-            for port in ports.iter() {
-                let mut frame = Frame::default()
-                    .inner_margin(4.0)
-                    .stroke((1.0, Color32::BLACK))
-                    .rounding(Rounding::same(2.0))
-                    .begin(ui);
+            ScrollArea::vertical().show(ui, |ui| {
+                for (_conn, ts, msg) in messages.iter().rev() {
+                    if only_note_on_off
+                        && !matches!(
+                            msg,
+                            Message::Voice(VoiceMessage {
+                                category: VoiceCategory::NoteOn { .. }
+                                    | VoiceCategory::NoteOff { .. },
+                                ..
+                            })
+                        )
+                    {
+                        continue;
+                    }
+                    let mut frame = Frame::default()
+                        .inner_margin(4.0)
+                        .stroke((1.0, Color32::BLACK))
+                        .rounding(Rounding::same(2.0))
+                        .begin(ui);
 
-                let port_name = self
-                    .midi_in
-                    .port_name(port)
-                    .unwrap_or("unknown".to_string());
-                frame.content_ui.label(port_name);
+                    let s = format!("{ts}: {:?}", msg);
+                    frame.content_ui.label(s);
 
-                frame.end(ui);
-            }
+                    frame.end(ui);
+                }
+            });
 
             ctx.request_repaint();
         });
     }
 }
-
-struct MidiDaemon {}
-
-pub fn launch_midi_daemon(target_field: Arc<Mutex<Vec<MidiInputPort>>>) -> JoinHandle<()> {
-    let daemon_handle = std::thread::spawn(move || midi_daemon(target_field));
-
-    daemon_handle
-}
-
-pub fn midi_daemon(target_field: Arc<Mutex<Vec<MidiInputPort>>>) {
-    let midi_in: MidiInput = MidiInput::new("midi-keys").expect("could not connect to system MIDI");
-
-    loop {
-        *target_field.lock() = midi_in.ports();
-
-        std::thread::sleep(std::time::Duration::from_millis(100));
-    }
-}