recent techy blog posts

  • Backing up backups from the HRMC 'Basic PAYE Tools' using NTFS junctions and OneDrive
    Backing up backups from the HRMC 'Basic PAYE Tools' using NTFS junctions and OneDrive

    Creating an NTFS junction from the place an app stores its files to somewhere inside OneDrive is a quick way to backup the data

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  • Querying a SharePoint list via Microsoft.Graph after upgrading to .NET SDK v5

    Retrieving custom columns from a SharePoint list via Microsoft.Graph after upgrading from v4.x to v5 of the .NET SDK

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  • Feature flags in ASP.NET Core
    Feature flags in ASP.NET Core

    Using the Microsoft.FeatureManagement.AspNetCore makes putting app functionality behind flags a piece of cake

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  • Where have the last two years gone!?
    Where have the last two years gone!?

    It's been two years since I last posted - I'm still not sure exactly how that happened?

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  • Resetting your password via the command line

    The NET command does lots of useful things, one of them is allowing you to change your password

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  • Why my Pi-hole was logging tens of thousands of queries against my default gateway for domain SRV records
    Why my Pi-hole was logging tens of thousands of queries against my default gateway for domain SRV records

    Configuring Pi-hole inside a domain environment and getting it wrong can cause some very large query counts

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  • SQL Server Reporting Services subscriptions fail to send email
    SQL Server Reporting Services subscriptions fail to send email

    SSRS report subscriptions can get themselves upset if the person who created them leaves

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  • Recovering access to a SQL Server that you don't have 'sa' access to anymore
  • Generating the bootstrap carousel on my homepage
    Generating the bootstrap carousel on my homepage

    Turning the carousel on my homepage from a mass of hand-edited HTML into generated markup

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  • Reactive Extensions - Their NuGet packages were renamed
    Reactive Extensions - Their NuGet packages were renamed

    An aide-memoire, the Rx-xxxxxx packages were de-listed and replaced with namespaced "proper" named packages on NuGet

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  • Converting a load of files from UTF-16 to UTF-8
    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

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  • Changing a Git branch that's tracking a remote
    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

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  • 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

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  • Using PowerShell to start and stop Hyper-V virtual machines
    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

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  • How to force Windows 10 / Server 201x to scan for updates
    How to force Windows 10 / Server 201x to scan for updates

    TLDR: 'UsoClient StartScan' will persuade Windows to re-scan for available updates

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recent cooking blog posts

  • Chicken, Salami and Cannellini
    Chicken, Salami and Cannellini

    Chicken thigh fillets, salami, beans and potatoes go together well to make a filling meal that's tasty and quite amenable to tweaking

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  • Moo 'n Blue Pie
    Moo 'n Blue Pie

    Slowly braised beef and potatoes cooked into a pie with a generous sprinkle of stilton

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  • Sweet Potato, Chickpea & Pepper curry in a hurry
    Sweet Potato, Chickpea & Pepper curry in a hurry

    Tasty, filling, chock full of things that are good for you and also ready in under half an hour - this vegetable curry is going to become a lunchtime go to meal for me

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  • Parsnip, Cumin & Chilli Soup
    Parsnip, Cumin & Chilli Soup

    Parsnips pair really well with earthy cumin and chilli heat when roasted, even better when made into a soup

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  • Beetroot & Carrot Fritters
    Beetroot & Carrot Fritters

    These go really well with chutney and a salad that contains chunks of feta cheese. Sweet chutney, savoury root vegetable fritters and salty feta is a really tasty combination.

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  • Soft white bread (machine) rolls
    Soft white bread (machine) rolls

    You can get some really quite good bread from supermarkets, but freshly baked rolls are pretty hard to beat

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  • Carluccio's Chicken
    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.

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  • Bolognese Conchigli pasta bake
    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

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  • Peri-Peri Chicken Thighs
    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!

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  • Slow Cooker BBQ Pulled chicken
    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!

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  • Chorizo, Lentil and Potato soup
    Chorizo, Lentil and Potato soup

    It feels like soup season is almost over, but my love affair with Chorizo in soup continues

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  • Special Breakfast Tomatoes
    Special Breakfast Tomatoes

    This is a bit of a childhood favourite, it doesn't lokok pretty but it does taste amazing!

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  • Lamb Hotpot
    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

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  • Soda Bread
    Soda Bread

    Soda bread is a 'quick bread' which means it's great when you're short of time and need a bread fix

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  • Sausage Ragu
    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!

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