Engineering and leadership writing by Pat Hermens.https://hermens.com.au/en-AUhttps://hermens.com.au/writing/2026-03-01-migrating-from-jekyll-to-astro/https://hermens.com.au/writing/2026-03-01-migrating-from-jekyll-to-astro/After eight years on Jekyll and GitHub Pages, I redesigned hermens.com.au from scratch using Astro - new design, better reading experience, and a migration script that handled most of the heavy lifting.Sun, 01 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMThttps://hermens.com.au/writing/2025-02-07-faster-smaller-cheaper-better/https://hermens.com.au/writing/2025-02-07-faster-smaller-cheaper-better/Examining the rapid evolution of AI models and questioning whether faster, smaller, and cheaper necessarily means better for developers and society.Fri, 07 Feb 2025 00:00:00 GMThttps://hermens.com.au/writing/2022-11-14-adding-mastodon/https://hermens.com.au/writing/2022-11-14-adding-mastodon/Adding Mastodon social links and verification to a Jekyll-based blog site.Mon, 14 Nov 2022 00:00:00 GMThttps://hermens.com.au/writing/2020-12-29-adding-docker-to-windows-terminal/https://hermens.com.au/writing/2020-12-29-adding-docker-to-windows-terminal/Configuring Windows Terminal to launch Docker containers as new tabs, creating instant debugging environments for Windows Server Core containers.Tue, 29 Dec 2020 00:00:00 GMThttps://hermens.com.au/writing/2020-12-26-book-review-shoe-dog/https://hermens.com.au/writing/2020-12-26-book-review-shoe-dog/A short review of Phil Knight's Shoe Dog — the early days of Blue Ribbon, the birth of Nike, and a memoir that's more story than management lesson.Sat, 26 Dec 2020 00:00:00 GMThttps://hermens.com.au/writing/2019-11-27-book-review-resilient-management/https://hermens.com.au/writing/2019-11-27-book-review-resilient-management/A chapter-by-chapter summary of Lara Hogan's Resilient Management — Tuckman's stages, the BICEPS needs, the four manager modes, and the feedback equation.Wed, 27 Nov 2019 00:00:00 GMThttps://hermens.com.au/writing/2019-02-11-fixing-the-flash/https://hermens.com.au/writing/2019-02-11-fixing-the-flash/A simple CSS technique to eliminate FOUC (Flash of Unstyled Content) by hiding content until styles are fully loaded.Mon, 11 Feb 2019 00:00:00 GMThttps://hermens.com.au/writing/2019-01-28-chocolatey-and-a-new-machine/https://hermens.com.au/writing/2019-01-28-chocolatey-and-a-new-machine/Setting up a new Windows development machine quickly using Chocolatey package manager, including WSL installation, console customization, and PowerShell profile configuration.Mon, 28 Jan 2019 00:00:00 GMThttps://hermens.com.au/writing/2019-01-21-how-do-i-sync/https://hermens.com.au/writing/2019-01-21-how-do-i-sync/Thoughts on effective one-on-one meetings with team leads, inspired by Rands' classic post on The Update, The Vent, and The Disaster.Mon, 21 Jan 2019 00:00:00 GMThttps://hermens.com.au/writing/2019-01-17-github-pages-docker-and-jekyll/https://hermens.com.au/writing/2019-01-17-github-pages-docker-and-jekyll/Troubleshooting and updating a Jekyll blog setup with Docker, including fixes for credential issues, Docker Compose changes, and file watching problems.Thu, 17 Jan 2019 00:00:00 GMThttps://hermens.com.au/writing/2019-01-07-time-for-a-new-introduction/https://hermens.com.au/writing/2019-01-07-time-for-a-new-introduction/Reflecting on what truly motivates me and discovering that telling stories well has become more energizing than solving technical problems alone.Mon, 07 Jan 2019 00:00:00 GMThttps://hermens.com.au/writing/2018-12-31-wow-what-a-year/https://hermens.com.au/writing/2018-12-31-wow-what-a-year/A personal retrospective on 2018, reflecting on work challenges, speaking engagements, family highlights, and lessons learned about balance and personal growth.Mon, 31 Dec 2018 00:00:00 GMThttps://hermens.com.au/writing/2017-05-20-making-fgitvis/https://hermens.com.au/writing/2017-05-20-making-fgitvis/Building fgitvis, a Git repository visualizer written in F#, to analyze commit patterns, contributor activity, and help teams improve their Git discipline.Sat, 20 May 2017 00:00:00 GMThttps://hermens.com.au/writing/2017-02-27-behind-the-scenes-of-the-behind-the-scenes/https://hermens.com.au/writing/2017-02-27-behind-the-scenes-of-the-behind-the-scenes/A detailed look at how to prepare for and deliver technical presentations at Coolblue's Behind the Scenes events, from initial planning to the night itself.Mon, 27 Feb 2017 00:00:00 GMThttps://hermens.com.au/writing/2017-01-24-unit-testing-sealed-internal-classes/https://hermens.com.au/writing/2017-01-24-unit-testing-sealed-internal-classes/Techniques for unit testing external libraries with sealed classes and internal constructors using Reflection, AutoFixture customizations, and creative workarounds in .NET.Tue, 24 Jan 2017 00:00:00 GMThttps://hermens.com.au/writing/2017-01-08-autofixture-automoq-and-unit-testing/https://hermens.com.au/writing/2017-01-08-autofixture-automoq-and-unit-testing/Using AutoFixture and AutoMoq to write clean unit tests in .NET, including creating custom Specimen Builders for handling complex property requirements and validation patterns.Sun, 08 Jan 2017 00:00:00 GMThttps://hermens.com.au/writing/2016-11-08-listening-to-steven-schuurman-about-elastic/https://hermens.com.au/writing/2016-11-08-listening-to-steven-schuurman-about-elastic/Notes and takeaways from a Coolblue vrijblijvers session with Steven Schuurman, co-founder of Elastic, covering company growth, remote work culture, and team independence.Tue, 08 Nov 2016 00:00:00 GMThttps://hermens.com.au/writing/2016-11-01-vscode-and-the-terminal/https://hermens.com.au/writing/2016-11-01-vscode-and-the-terminal/Discovering and configuring the integrated terminal in Visual Studio Code, including PowerShell customization with PoshGit for a better development workflow.Tue, 01 Nov 2016 00:00:00 GMThttps://hermens.com.au/writing/2016-10-28-logging-to-elk-from-net-with-log4net/https://hermens.com.au/writing/2016-10-28-logging-to-elk-from-net-with-log4net/A guide to configuring Log4Net to send structured logs from .NET applications to an ELK (Elasticsearch, Logstash, Kibana) stack for centralized logging and monitoring.Fri, 28 Oct 2016 00:00:00 GMT