19 posts on engineering, leadership, and the space between.
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.
Examining the rapid evolution of AI models and questioning whether faster, smaller, and cheaper necessarily means better for developers and society.
Adding Mastodon social links and verification to a Jekyll-based blog site.
Configuring Windows Terminal to launch Docker containers as new tabs, creating instant debugging environments for Windows Server Core containers.
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.
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.
A simple CSS technique to eliminate FOUC (Flash of Unstyled Content) by hiding content until styles are fully loaded.
Setting up a new Windows development machine quickly using Chocolatey package manager, including WSL installation, console customization, and PowerShell profile configuration.
Thoughts on effective one-on-one meetings with team leads, inspired by Rands' classic post on The Update, The Vent, and The Disaster.
Troubleshooting and updating a Jekyll blog setup with Docker, including fixes for credential issues, Docker Compose changes, and file watching problems.
Reflecting on what truly motivates me and discovering that telling stories well has become more energizing than solving technical problems alone.
A personal retrospective on 2018, reflecting on work challenges, speaking engagements, family highlights, and lessons learned about balance and personal growth.
Building fgitvis, a Git repository visualizer written in F#, to analyze commit patterns, contributor activity, and help teams improve their Git discipline.
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.
Techniques for unit testing external libraries with sealed classes and internal constructors using Reflection, AutoFixture customizations, and creative workarounds in .NET.
Using AutoFixture and AutoMoq to write clean unit tests in .NET, including creating custom Specimen Builders for handling complex property requirements and validation patterns.
Notes and takeaways from a Coolblue vrijblijvers session with Steven Schuurman, co-founder of Elastic, covering company growth, remote work culture, and team independence.
Discovering and configuring the integrated terminal in Visual Studio Code, including PowerShell customization with PoshGit for a better development workflow.
A guide to configuring Log4Net to send structured logs from .NET applications to an ELK (Elasticsearch, Logstash, Kibana) stack for centralized logging and monitoring.