“They don’t con you because you’re stupid, they con you because you’re human.” — This is a work in progress. I’m writing about CashFX (interchangeably CFX) out of morbid curiosity and also because it has affected my wider family. Life savings will be lost, hopes dashed and dreams will die when this scam finally collapses, which looks like it’s not too far into the…

Webpack’s documentation is very good, but I wanted to document a very simple few steps to setting up Webpack, as a light introduction for those who want to see what it does before jumping in. I prefer to use yarn over npm as I personally find it easier and more…

Last year I experimented with Azure’s Cosmos DB. It didn’t end up getting used but I had a simple proof of concept that worked and I thought others might find it useful as an introduction to using Cosmos DB with Lucee or Coldfusion. This is a very simple demo and the code is not structured how you would in a real-world project, but the aim was to make the code as simple to understand as I could. As Cosmos DB is accessed through an API this demo is essentially a function that interacts with its API and its particular requirements. I’ve only covered the basic functions of CosmosDB in this demo but all other functions will be a case of reading the manual and updating the functions.

With a blank slate in front of you, how do you turn a pile of requirements into a technical design? — Recently I was asked what my approach to a new technical design is. I realised I’d never written it down how I go from nothing to an initial technical design, and that it was probably worth doing so, as much for my benefit. So this is an attempt at that. Agile Architectures …

Common sense should be defined as your current opinion, as influenced by outside sources that align with your existing preferences. It is by no means guaranteed to be common, logical or sensible. Therefore do not use common sense in discussions, to form your defining principles & stances, or make significant decisions in your life.

Effective decision making strategies for software development. — The project you’re working on might well be in one of two phases: either you’re embarking on a new build and staring at a blank piece of paper; or you need to restructure or extend an existing application. Either way, there are architectural decisions to be made. In this article…

First, the disclaimer: I’m not a cryptocurrency or Ether smart contract expert, just blockchain-curious. With a lot of buzz about cryptocurrencies and bitcoin forks lately (and forks that weren’t) my reading has triggered a fair amount of ICO advertising on my feeds. One of those was for Lunar Fund, a…

“The internet economy is fuelled by attention, and it’s far easier to seize someone’s attention with emotionally charged argument than mere information — plus you don’t have to pay for the expensive reporting required to ferret out the facts.” Oliver Burkeman How many people would pay a little over €1…

Last week was the State Opening of Parliament in the UK. Before the event the Yeomen of the Guard search the cellars of the building using lanterns, looking for barrels of gunpowder. Why? In 1605 there was a plot to blow up the ceremony by placing barrels of gunpowder in…