All posts

Most recent 10 posts

May 2019		Falsehoods programmers believe about Unix time
May 2019		Creating a locking service in a Scala type class
May 2019		Finding unused variables in a Terraform module
Apr 2019		Reversing a t.co URL to the original tweet
Apr 2019		Some tips for conferences
Apr 2019		Getting a transcript of a talk from YouTube
Apr 2019		How I back up my computing devices, 2019 edition
Mar 2019		Creating a GitHub Action to auto-merge pull requests
Mar 2019		A day out to the Forth Bridge
Mar 2019		Finding the latest screenshot in macOS Mojave

Blogging about blogging

Build automation and build systems

Mar 2019		Creating a GitHub Action to auto-merge pull requests
Aug 2018		Finding slow builds in Travis
Aug 2018		Selective sudo on Travis
Mar 2018		The Hypothesis continuous release process
Dec 2017		Your repo should be easy to build, and how

Diversity, inclusion and accessibility

Feb 2019		More advice on running inclusive and welcoming events
Oct 2018		Open consultation on the Gender Recognition Act
Sep 2018		Content warnings
Aug 2018		Ideas for inclusive conferences and events
Nov 2017		How I ask about gender
Oct 2017		NPR: Graduation Readers At MIT Go The Extra Mile To Pronounce Names Correctly
Apr 2017		Accessibility at AlterConf
Feb 2016		How I use TextExpander to curb my language

Organising PyCon UK

Photography

Mar 2019		A day out to the Forth Bridge
Nov 2018		My visit to the Aberdulais Falls
Jun 2017		A visit to the Crossness pumping station

Programming and code

May 2019		Falsehoods programmers believe about Unix time
May 2019		Creating a locking service in a Scala type class
May 2019		Finding unused variables in a Terraform module
Apr 2019		Reversing a t.co URL to the original tweet
Apr 2019		Getting a transcript of a talk from YouTube
Mar 2019		Finding the latest screenshot in macOS Mojave
Mar 2019		Atomic, cross-filesystem moves in Python
Jan 2019		Debugging a stuck Terraform plan
Dec 2018		Notes on reading a UTF-8 encoded CSV in Python
Dec 2018		Iterating in fixed-size chunks in Python
Dec 2018		A script for backing up Tumblr posts and likes
Oct 2018		Custom 404 responses in Finatra
Aug 2018		Avoiding the automatic redirect on Tumblr posts
Jul 2018		A robot leaked my SSH keys
May 2018		Drawing ASCII bar charts
May 2018		Beware of logged errors from subprocess
Oct 2017		Using hooks for custom behaviour in requests
Oct 2017		Four ways to underline text in LaTeX
Oct 2017		Using pip-tools to manage my Python dependencies
Sep 2017		A Python module for lazy reading of file objects
Jul 2017		Backing up full-page archives from Pinboard
Jul 2017		Backing up content from SoundCloud
Mar 2017		A few examples of extensions in Python-Markdown
Feb 2017		A script for backing up your Instapaper bookmarks
Feb 2017		A script for backing up your Goodreads reviews
Jan 2017		A Python interface to AO3
Jan 2017		Experiments with AO3 and Python
Dec 2016		A tool for backing up your message history from Slack
Nov 2016		Use keyring to store your credentials
Oct 2016		Creating low contrast wallpapers with Pillow
Oct 2016		Tiling the plane with Pillow
Oct 2016		Why I use py.test
Oct 2016		A shell alias for tallying data
Aug 2016		Python snippet: dealing with query strings in URLs
Aug 2016		Python snippets: Is a URL from a Tumblr post?
Aug 2016		Python snippets: Cleaning up empty/nearly empty directories
Jul 2016		Python snippets: Chasing redirects and URL shorteners
Jun 2016		Reading web pages on my Kindle
May 2016		A Python smtplib wrapper for FastMail
May 2016		Safely deleting a file called ‘-rf *’
May 2016		“The document could not be saved”
Apr 2016		Hiding the YouTube search bar
Apr 2016		Treat regular expressions as code, not magic
Mar 2016		Get images from the iTunes/App/Mac App Stores with Alfred
Mar 2016		Exclusively create a file in Python 3
Dec 2015		Pretty printing JSON and XML in the shell
Nov 2015		Backups and Docker
Nov 2015		Export a list of URLs from Safari Reading List
Nov 2015		Quick shell access for Docker containers
Aug 2015		Finding even more untagged posts on Tumblr
Jul 2015		Useful Bash features: exit traps
Jun 2015		Persistent IPython notebooks in Windows
Jun 2015		Safer file copying in Python
May 2015		Cloning GitHub’s Contributions chart
May 2015		Previewing notes from nvALT in Marked
Mar 2015		Pygmentizr
Mar 2015		Adding Python to the OS X firewall
Feb 2015		Adding checkboxes to lists
Feb 2015		Swift 1.2 improves the “let” keyword, and other improvements
Dec 2014		A script for exporting from iMessage
Nov 2014		Unpacking sets and ranges from a single string
Oct 2014		Notes on Tumblr
Aug 2014		Updates to my site for finding untagged Tumblr posts
Aug 2014		A TextExpander snippet for Amazon affiliate links
Aug 2014		A quick Alfred workflow for opening recent screenshots
Jul 2014		Getting plaintext LaTeX from Wolfram Alpha
Jun 2014		Finding untagged posts on Tumblr, redux
Aug 2013		Cleaning up Google Maps
Aug 2013		Finding untagged posts on Tumblr

Talks

Jan 2019		Monki Gras 2019: The Curb Cut Effect
Sep 2018		Assume worst intent (designing against the abusive ex)
Sep 2018		Building trust in an age of suspicious minds
Apr 2018		(Anti) Social Media
Nov 2017		Using privilege to improve inclusion
Sep 2017		Ode to docopt
Jun 2016		Introduction to property-based testing
Jun 2016		Introduction to property-based testing

Working with AWS

Feb 2019		Working with really large objects in S3
Dec 2018		Getting credentials for an assumed IAM Role
Nov 2018		Finding SNS topics without any subscriptions
Sep 2018		A basic error logger for Python Lambdas
Aug 2018		Implementing parallel scan in DynamoDB with Scanamo
Apr 2018		Two shortcuts for using S3 in the shell
Jan 2018		Getting every message in an SQS queue
Jan 2018		Listing keys in an S3 bucket with Python, redux
Nov 2017		Downloading logs from Amazon CloudWatch
Jul 2017		Listing keys in an S3 bucket with Python

Working with Git

Mar 2018		Notes on A Plumber’s Guide to Git
Nov 2017		Pruning old Git branches
Nov 2017		A plumber’s guide to Git
Sep 2017		Some useful Git commands for CI
Jun 2015		Useful Git features: a per-clone exclude file

Uncategorised

Apr 2019		Some tips for conferences
Apr 2019		How I back up my computing devices, 2019 edition
Jan 2019		Notes from You Got This 2019
Jan 2019		How much sunlight affects my mood levels
Jan 2019		Thoughts on privacy and Oyster cards
Jan 2019		A delightful store for speciality spreads: Paul Rothe & Sons
Nov 2018		Keeping track of my book recommendations
Oct 2018		How do you hide a coin for 400 years?
Oct 2018		How to set the clock on a Horstmann Electronic 7 water heater
Aug 2018		Do Not Distract while driving
Jul 2018		Moving my calendars from iCloud to FastMail
Jul 2018		A tip for travel instructions
Jul 2018		My favourite iMac accessory
May 2018		A brief thought on Google Duplex
Apr 2018		24 hours or bust
Mar 2018		Keep an overnight bag in the office
Feb 2018		A working from home experiment
Jan 2018		IP and DNS addresses for documentation
Dec 2017		Armed police officers don’t make me feel safer
Nov 2017		My favourite WITCH story
Nov 2017		Don’t tap the mic, and other tips for speakers
Oct 2017		PyCon UK 2017 resources
Oct 2017		Displaying tweets in Keynote
Oct 2017		Control Centre: one step forward, two steps back
Dec 2016		Another example of why strings are terrible
Nov 2016		Some low-tech ways to get more ideas
Oct 2016		The A stands for Asexual
Sep 2016		My travelling tech bag
Sep 2016		aspell, a command-line spell checker
Jul 2016		Clearing disk space on OS X
Jun 2016		A subscription for my toothbrush
Mar 2016		Backup paranoia
Feb 2016		Saved by the Prompt
Jan 2016		The Harry Potter Collector’s iPod
Jan 2016		The Skeletor clip loop, 2015 edition
Jan 2016		A cautionary tale about Fusion Drive repairs
Dec 2015		Simpler syndication, by Dr. Drang
Nov 2015		Email with a purpose
Nov 2015		Python and the BBC micro:bit
Sep 2015		What does “Spotlight Suggestions” turn off?
Sep 2015		Apple quietly adopts HTTP/2
Sep 2015		Review: Effective Python
May 2015		One-step paste in the iOS Simulator
Mar 2015		Some exam advice
Feb 2015		Tidying up my 1Password
Feb 2015		A Flask app for taking notes
Dec 2014		Kitchen sink security
Dec 2014		Acronyms
Dec 2014		Skeletors All the Way Down
Dec 2014		Lukas Mathis on iOS CarPlay and Android Auto
Oct 2014		“Missing argument at index 2” in fish
Sep 2014		Playing with 404 pages
Sep 2014		My new standing desk
Jul 2014		Thoughts on Overcast
Jun 2014		Skeletor!
Jun 2014		Catching instapaper:// URLs from ReadKit
Jun 2014		Some site updates
May 2014		Some Part IA exam advice
May 2014		Brief advice for Part II
Apr 2014		Pulling back the veil
Nov 2013		TextMate 2 and Quick Look
May 2013		Podcast feeds on Tumblr
Mar 2013		Automatic Pinboard backups
Mar 2013		Strange clock bug in OS X
Mar 2013		Candybar and icon recommendations
Feb 2013		Darwin, pancakes and birthdays
Jan 2013		Zero
Dec 2012		Hypercritical