Dominic Sayers
That was inedible muck, and there wasn't enough of it
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Pentest jobsworths
One of our apps has been pentested by our client’s infosec provider and the results are … less than useful. The so-called pentest appears to have been a scripted nmap (of CloudFront!) and a scripted poke around the HTTP headers returned by the CloudFront server fronting the React app. I...
No-fuss wholemeal sourdough
A wholemeal loaf with the minimum of process and no manual kneading Like everyone else I started baking with sourdough in lockdown. I stopped when my starter died while we were on holiday in Crete. It didn’t come with us, I just left it out in a hot summer kitchen...
Slow-cooked glazed pork belly Korean style
A rich dish of twice-cooked pork belly in a spicy sauce. I served this at my 60th birthday party dinner and it all got eaten. Maybe I didn’t cook enough, or maybe it was so delicious people couldn’t bear to leave any. Who knows. The point about it is that...
Nursery Spaghetti Bolognese
This is how I make spag bol for my kids, who are slightly fussy eaters This works without the meat as a pasta sauce or as pizza topping. My sister’s children eat healthy Mediterranean food with relish. My own children refused to eat anything with visible ingredients. The worst thing...
Choosing an open source component
Before I approve the use of an open source component in one of my projects, there are some simple checks I ask the team to do before we use it. Below are the checks we do - you may have others, in which case I’d love to hear about them....
Code reviews commit-by-commit
Here’s how I approach a code review for a merge request (or pull request if you’re using GitHub). It’s a general approach, not language-specific. I’d really like to improve my process so if you have any thoughts or tips please let me know. This is a rough draft and needs...
A no-effort white loaf using a Kenwood Chef
This is how I make an easy and quick white loaf using my kitchen mixer. It’s trouble-free and reliable and a great time-saver. I mentioned my Kenwood Chef by name because I know it works. Your mixer may be just as good so long as it has a dough hook....
The future is bleak
Sorry if this is obvious or trite but the problem isn’t Trump or Jacob Rees-Mogg, it’s that they are massively popular. Slightly more than half the people in the world seem to think that identity is the most important thing to them. Being part of a tribe and seeing that...
Chocolate Mousse
This recipe is from our friends the Poggios. We first ate it at their house and when they came to dinner we insisted they brought chocolate mousse with them. It is extremely chocolately.
Using Jekyll to markup a recipe
I wanted to share my no-weighing flapjack recipe with the world so I added a post last month. Before I published it I researched how to mark up the HTML so that Google knew it was a recipe rather than just a bit of text. Turns out there’s a reasonably...
Moist flapjack with condensed milk
This recipe makes enough flapjack for two hungry children for several weeks of school lunches. The best thing about this recipe (as well as the fact that it makes a delicious, moist flapjack) is that it needs no measuring! The ingredients are all whole packets or tins - no need...
Connecting a Raspberry Pi Sense HAT with a ribbon cable
My son is working with a Raspberry Pi and a Sense HAT at school (he is 11 and in Year 7). He enjoys this stuff so I thought I’d get him the equivalent kit to experiment with at home. Then I read that the temperature sensor suffers from its proximity...
Dealing with the information firehose at a fintech VC
Finding the right tools Anthemis Group is a London-based investor in early-stage and growth-stage companies particularly in the fintech and insurance sectors. For investors like Anthemis the total amount of available useful data to support investment decisions is very small. Getting the most out of this data is a different...
The Decision Review System (DRS) - Part 1: Introduction
Aims & origin of the DRS TV replays Before the DRS was introduced we had two umpires on the field with nothing but their eyes and ears with which to make a decision. Television viewers, on the other hand, had the benefit of slow-motion replays and an increasing number of...
In which I tell you my password for this website
I exaggerate. I’m not really going to tell you my password but I am going to tell you roughly how I created it. You may find it useful when thinking about your own passwords. Over the years I got into the habit of using the same weakish password for every...
Getting online
I’ve been asked a few times recently for general advice about getting a new business or project online. Here’s the skinny. Any new business or project is going to need an online presence. So you just need to go and register a domain with GoDaddy, right? Stop! First read this handy guide...
Internet domains 101
Sometimes I help people out with web servers, email servers and other internet-related stuff. I often have to explain how we control what happens when you type in www.example.com or whoever@example.com. Here’s my simple guide to how internet domains work. Name resolution When you type www.example.com into a web browser, how does...