recent techy blog posts

Converting a load of files from UTF-16 to UTF-8
A quick and dirty console app to re-encode a load of files as UTF-8 when I screwed up and scripted them as UTF-16
Posted 05/12/2019
Changing a Git branch that's tracking a remote
A couple of Git commands that everyone probably already knows that let me retain a branch with changes but restart my work from the server version
Posted 18/11/2019
The anatomy of a FIX message
FIX is a protocol that's used in finance for doing financey stuff. It's vaguely interesting so here's a take-apart of a mesage
Posted 31/10/2019
Using PowerShell to start and stop Hyper-V virtual machines
PowerShell is a lot quicker than right-clicking on every VM and choosing Start or Save
Posted 30/09/2019
How to force Windows 10 / Server 201x to scan for updates
TLDR: 'UsoClient StartScan' will persuade Windows to re-scan for available updates
Posted 28/08/2019
Don't slash your globs the wrong way!
It may be obvious, but make sure your globs have /'s not \'s!
Posted 24/07/2019
Refreshing the Windows icon cache
More of a 'note to self' than anything else, but here's how to force an icon refresh in the Windows 10 taskbar
Posted 13/06/2019
Resolving: Cannot find command 'dotnet ef' and then dotnet-ef.dll isn't in the right folder?
Doing 'dotnet ef' the right way with the changes that have come in with .NET Core 3
Posted 09/06/2019
Cannot find command 'dotnet ef' and then dotnet-ef.dll isn't in the right folder?
A hack to get 'dotnet ef' working because something's gone weird, .NET Core 3.0.0 preview bug?
Posted 08/06/2019
How to fix NUnit tests that aren't showing in Visual Studio Test Explorer
Fixing NUnit tests that the Visual Studio test runner won't show by clearing a cache of sorts
Posted 31/05/2019
Getting Opserver (the awesome monitoring solution from Stack Exchange) to monitor DMZ servers
There's a few steps required, but it's not that complicated to get Opserver to monitor DMZ machines via WMI
Posted 30/05/2019
Facial Recognition using the UWP APIs in Windows 10 via Windows Forms on .NET Core 3.0
Mixing and matching *all* the technologies, and it all just seems to work!
Posted 29/05/2019
Scheduled Task that runs a PowerShell script returning 0x80070001
Scheduled Tasks give a very opaque error if they're running PowerShell scripts and Set-ExecutionPolicy hasn't been run
Posted 28/05/2019
Using Windows 10 UWP APIs from a .NET Core application
There's a new NuGet package around that makes it very easy to use UWP APIs from a .NET Core based desktop app
Posted 22/05/2019
Reading and writing a memory-mapped file in .NET Core
Memory-mapped files are a useful tool to hav available, this is a simple example of reading and writing one
Posted 15/05/2019

recent cooking blog posts

Carluccio's Chicken
This is based on a recipe my dad cooked, which he credited to the late, great, Antonio Carluccio. I've never actually seen the recipe as published by him, if indeed it ever was, that said it's not the most complicated of things to cook. You end up with crispy skinned chicken, miniature crispy roasted potato bites, sweet slightly caramelised onion and the icing on the cake is the roasted sweet and sticky garlic that can be squeezed out of the cloves.
Posted 11/01/2020
Bolognese Conchigli pasta bake
The conchigli that I use for this pasta bake are quite thick, lending them an almost meaty texture that really gives the pasta bake some substance
Posted 08/01/2020
Peri-Peri Chicken Thighs
Chicken thighs are wonderfully cheap in comparison to breasts, and they have more flavour. A smoky chilli marinade is a match made in heaven!
Posted 28/12/2019
Slow Cooker BBQ Pulled chicken
Putting all the ingredients in a slow cooker for four hours, then coming back, shredding the chicken and eating it - couldn't be easier!
Posted 28/04/2019
Chorizo, Lentil and Potato soup
It feels like soup season is almost over, but my love affair with Chorizo in soup continues
Posted 23/02/2019
Special Breakfast Tomatoes
This is a bit of a childhood favourite, it doesn't lokok pretty but it does taste amazing!
Posted 26/01/2019
Lamb Hotpot
Lamb Hotpot recipes normally use chunks of meat, rather than minced meat. This recipe, based on one from gousto, uses minced lamb which keeps the cost and the cookl time to a minimum
Posted 13/01/2019
Soda Bread
Soda bread is a 'quick bread' which means it's great when you're short of time and need a bread fix
Posted 30/12/2018
Sausage Ragu
An attempt at re-creating a dish I had when dining with colleagues. It's a long, slow cook time but well worth it!
Posted 26/10/2018
Banana Bread
Make this a day or so before you need it, if you can, it gets stickier and tastier after baking!
Posted 29/09/2018
Ham & Cheese Toastie
It feels like a bit of a stretch to call a Ham & Cheese Toastie a recipe, but I don't care
Posted 22/09/2018
Braised greens
This recipe for greens is a nice way to lift them a bit for variety and make the meal a little bit richer
Posted 17/09/2018
Creamy Chicken
A tried and tested tasty dish that takes 30 minutes all-in, yes it's rich, but it's a bit of a treat meal!
Posted 15/09/2018
Chicken and Ham Pie
Another pie recipe, this time Chicken and Ham with some leeks snuck in for good measure
Posted 10/09/2018
Yorkshire Puddings
An essential accompaniment to the roast dinner, I think there's actually a law that says you can't have one without the other!
Posted 09/09/2018

Converting a load of files from UTF-16 to UTF-8 A quick and dirty console app to re-encode a load of files as UTF-8 when I screwed up and scripted them as UTF-16 Posted 05/12/2019

Changing a Git branch that's tracking a remote A couple of Git commands that everyone probably already knows that let me retain a branch with changes but restart my work from the server version Posted 18/11/2019

The anatomy of a FIX message FIX is a protocol that's used in finance for doing financey stuff. It's vaguely interesting so here's a take-apart of a mesage Posted 31/10/2019

Using PowerShell to start and stop Hyper-V virtual machines PowerShell is a lot quicker than right-clicking on every VM and choosing Start or Save Posted 30/09/2019

How to force Windows 10 / Server 201x to scan for updates TLDR: 'UsoClient StartScan' will persuade Windows to re-scan for available updates Posted 28/08/2019

Don't slash your globs the wrong way! It may be obvious, but make sure your globs have /'s not \'s! Posted 24/07/2019

Refreshing the Windows icon cache More of a 'note to self' than anything else, but here's how to force an icon refresh in the Windows 10 taskbar Posted 13/06/2019

Resolving: Cannot find command 'dotnet ef' and then dotnet-ef.dll isn't in the right folder? Doing 'dotnet ef' the right way with the changes that have come in with .NET Core 3 Posted 09/06/2019

Cannot find command 'dotnet ef' and then dotnet-ef.dll isn't in the right folder? A hack to get 'dotnet ef' working because something's gone weird, .NET Core 3.0.0 preview bug? Posted 08/06/2019

How to fix NUnit tests that aren't showing in Visual Studio Test Explorer Fixing NUnit tests that the Visual Studio test runner won't show by clearing a cache of sorts Posted 31/05/2019

Getting Opserver (the awesome monitoring solution from Stack Exchange) to monitor DMZ servers There's a few steps required, but it's not that complicated to get Opserver to monitor DMZ machines via WMI Posted 30/05/2019

Facial Recognition using the UWP APIs in Windows 10 via Windows Forms on .NET Core 3.0 Mixing and matching *all* the technologies, and it all just seems to work! Posted 29/05/2019

Scheduled Task that runs a PowerShell script returning 0x80070001 Scheduled Tasks give a very opaque error if they're running PowerShell scripts and Set-ExecutionPolicy hasn't been run Posted 28/05/2019

Using Windows 10 UWP APIs from a .NET Core application There's a new NuGet package around that makes it very easy to use UWP APIs from a .NET Core based desktop app Posted 22/05/2019

Reading and writing a memory-mapped file in .NET Core Memory-mapped files are a useful tool to hav available, this is a simple example of reading and writing one Posted 15/05/2019

Bolognese Conchigli pasta bake The conchigli that I use for this pasta bake are quite thick, lending them an almost meaty texture that really gives the pasta bake some substance Posted 08/01/2020

Peri-Peri Chicken Thighs Chicken thighs are wonderfully cheap in comparison to breasts, and they have more flavour. A smoky chilli marinade is a match made in heaven! Posted 28/12/2019

Slow Cooker BBQ Pulled chicken Putting all the ingredients in a slow cooker for four hours, then coming back, shredding the chicken and eating it - couldn't be easier! Posted 28/04/2019

Chorizo, Lentil and Potato soup It feels like soup season is almost over, but my love affair with Chorizo in soup continues Posted 23/02/2019

Special Breakfast Tomatoes This is a bit of a childhood favourite, it doesn't lokok pretty but it does taste amazing! Posted 26/01/2019

Lamb Hotpot Lamb Hotpot recipes normally use chunks of meat, rather than minced meat. This recipe, based on one from gousto, uses minced lamb which keeps the cost and the cookl time to a minimum Posted 13/01/2019

Soda Bread Soda bread is a 'quick bread' which means it's great when you're short of time and need a bread fix Posted 30/12/2018

Sausage Ragu An attempt at re-creating a dish I had when dining with colleagues. It's a long, slow cook time but well worth it! Posted 26/10/2018

Banana Bread Make this a day or so before you need it, if you can, it gets stickier and tastier after baking! Posted 29/09/2018

Ham & Cheese Toastie It feels like a bit of a stretch to call a Ham & Cheese Toastie a recipe, but I don't care Posted 22/09/2018

Braised greens This recipe for greens is a nice way to lift them a bit for variety and make the meal a little bit richer Posted 17/09/2018

Creamy Chicken A tried and tested tasty dish that takes 30 minutes all-in, yes it's rich, but it's a bit of a treat meal! Posted 15/09/2018

Chicken and Ham Pie Another pie recipe, this time Chicken and Ham with some leeks snuck in for good measure Posted 10/09/2018

Yorkshire Puddings An essential accompaniment to the roast dinner, I think there's actually a law that says you can't have one without the other! Posted 09/09/2018

Converting a load of files from UTF-16 to UTF-8
A quick and dirty console app to re-encode a load of files as UTF-8 when I screwed up and scripted them as UTF-16
Posted 05/12/2019

Changing a Git branch that's tracking a remote
A couple of Git commands that everyone probably already knows that let me retain a branch with changes but restart my work from the server version
Posted 18/11/2019

The anatomy of a FIX message
FIX is a protocol that's used in finance for doing financey stuff. It's vaguely interesting so here's a take-apart of a mesage
Posted 31/10/2019

Using PowerShell to start and stop Hyper-V virtual machines
PowerShell is a lot quicker than right-clicking on every VM and choosing Start or Save
Posted 30/09/2019

How to force Windows 10 / Server 201x to scan for updates
TLDR: 'UsoClient StartScan' will persuade Windows to re-scan for available updates
Posted 28/08/2019

Don't slash your globs the wrong way!
It may be obvious, but make sure your globs have /'s not \'s!
Posted 24/07/2019

Refreshing the Windows icon cache
More of a 'note to self' than anything else, but here's how to force an icon refresh in the Windows 10 taskbar
Posted 13/06/2019

Resolving: Cannot find command 'dotnet ef' and then dotnet-ef.dll isn't in the right folder?
Doing 'dotnet ef' the right way with the changes that have come in with .NET Core 3
Posted 09/06/2019

Cannot find command 'dotnet ef' and then dotnet-ef.dll isn't in the right folder?
A hack to get 'dotnet ef' working because something's gone weird, .NET Core 3.0.0 preview bug?
Posted 08/06/2019

How to fix NUnit tests that aren't showing in Visual Studio Test Explorer
Fixing NUnit tests that the Visual Studio test runner won't show by clearing a cache of sorts
Posted 31/05/2019

Getting Opserver (the awesome monitoring solution from Stack Exchange) to monitor DMZ servers
There's a few steps required, but it's not that complicated to get Opserver to monitor DMZ machines via WMI
Posted 30/05/2019

Facial Recognition using the UWP APIs in Windows 10 via Windows Forms on .NET Core 3.0
Mixing and matching all the technologies, and it all just seems to work!
Posted 29/05/2019

Scheduled Task that runs a PowerShell script returning 0x80070001
Scheduled Tasks give a very opaque error if they're running PowerShell scripts and Set-ExecutionPolicy hasn't been run
Posted 28/05/2019

Using Windows 10 UWP APIs from a .NET Core application
There's a new NuGet package around that makes it very easy to use UWP APIs from a .NET Core based desktop app
Posted 22/05/2019

Reading and writing a memory-mapped file in .NET Core
Memory-mapped files are a useful tool to hav available, this is a simple example of reading and writing one
Posted 15/05/2019

Bolognese Conchigli pasta bake
The conchigli that I use for this pasta bake are quite thick, lending them an almost meaty texture that really gives the pasta bake some substance
Posted 08/01/2020

Peri-Peri Chicken Thighs
Chicken thighs are wonderfully cheap in comparison to breasts, and they have more flavour. A smoky chilli marinade is a match made in heaven!
Posted 28/12/2019

Slow Cooker BBQ Pulled chicken
Putting all the ingredients in a slow cooker for four hours, then coming back, shredding the chicken and eating it - couldn't be easier!
Posted 28/04/2019

Chorizo, Lentil and Potato soup
It feels like soup season is almost over, but my love affair with Chorizo in soup continues
Posted 23/02/2019

Special Breakfast Tomatoes
This is a bit of a childhood favourite, it doesn't lokok pretty but it does taste amazing!
Posted 26/01/2019

Lamb Hotpot
Lamb Hotpot recipes normally use chunks of meat, rather than minced meat. This recipe, based on one from gousto, uses minced lamb which keeps the cost and the cookl time to a minimum
Posted 13/01/2019

Soda Bread
Soda bread is a 'quick bread' which means it's great when you're short of time and need a bread fix
Posted 30/12/2018

Sausage Ragu
An attempt at re-creating a dish I had when dining with colleagues. It's a long, slow cook time but well worth it!
Posted 26/10/2018

Banana Bread
Make this a day or so before you need it, if you can, it gets stickier and tastier after baking!
Posted 29/09/2018

Ham & Cheese Toastie
It feels like a bit of a stretch to call a Ham & Cheese Toastie a recipe, but I don't care
Posted 22/09/2018

Braised greens
This recipe for greens is a nice way to lift them a bit for variety and make the meal a little bit richer
Posted 17/09/2018

Creamy Chicken
A tried and tested tasty dish that takes 30 minutes all-in, yes it's rich, but it's a bit of a treat meal!
Posted 15/09/2018

Chicken and Ham Pie
Another pie recipe, this time Chicken and Ham with some leeks snuck in for good measure
Posted 10/09/2018

Yorkshire Puddings
An essential accompaniment to the roast dinner, I think there's actually a law that says you can't have one without the other!
Posted 09/09/2018