ICMYI: Featured on Microsoft Learn Contributor Stories!
Microsoft was kind enough to feature me in a Microsoft Learn Contributor Story!
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dotnet
How to Run Docker-based .NET apps in JetBrains Rider Without “Fast Mode”
In most cases, containerized .NET apps run just fine “out of the box”. IDEs such as Visual Studio and JetBrains Rider provide a helpful experience called “Fa...
How To: Test Logging when Using Microsoft.Extensions.Logging and Serilog
There are a lot of different ways to test logging, and quite a few opinions about how to do so. I recently found what feels like a very pleasant approach for...
Beautiful .NET Test Reports Using GitHub Actions
I know some folks who would like to move to GitHub Actions from Azure DevOps, but would really miss the “Test View” that Azure DevOps provides. Let’s see if ...
How to Set up Netlify Deploys for Docfx using GitHub Actions
We currently use docfx to publish the NUnit docs, because it has a lovely capability of generating docs for our API reference in addition to all our articles.
Introducing TF WhatsUp, a Tool for Better Terraform Notes
Scratching a development itch to make Terraform provider upgrades easier.
.NET OSS Maintainer Support Survey – The Results!
The results are in. Where do we go from here?
Hot off the Press: The .NET OSS Maintainer Support Survey!
Learning what maintainers need most, so we can take action.
Announcement: Introducing FlavorsOf.NET!
I’d received more than a few questions about the naming and differences between .NET Framework, .NET Core, .NET 5, Mono, Xamarin, etc.
Utilizing Bogus with the Builder Pattern for better Mocks
I was recently working with the excellent Octokit.NET library for working with GitHub, and like many developers, I needed to write a test.
Thoughts on the .NET Foundation’s Revised Election Process
Updated: This post has some updates to include responses from Claire, which were helpful and clarifying in several instances below.
That Time I Almost Got Elected to the .NET Foundation Board of Directors
The .NET Foundation Board elections recently took place, and I was the last one eliminated, one of my proudest accomplishments to date (the link, unfortunate...
culture
How to Write a Successful Job Description for a Developer Role
I got a surprising amount of positive feedback on a job description I wrote recently, both internally and from candidates. So, I figured I’d write up my proc...
Shrink Your Meeting “Feedback Loops”
How I committed to making meetings better.
Creating and Modeling “Sensible Happy Paths” for Software Team Success
Happy paths compound over time.
The Power of Thinking About “The Thing After the Thing”
I’ve long been a fan of The Phoenix Project, and grateful for the ways its introduced so many to DevOps culture and practices. One of my favorite personal “a...
On Moq and our Part in the OSS Sustainability Social Contract
Let they who are without OSS sin cast the first stone. Let’s look inward on OSS sustainability issues.
How to Contribute to OSS Projects When You’re Unfamiliar With Their Code
It can seem daunting, but there are some ways in.
Better Technical Interviews: Part 5 – My Common Interview Questions
This post is part of a series I’m writing on better technical interviews. I’d love your feedback in the comments!
Better Technical Interviews: Part 4 – My Opinions on Various Techniques
This post is part of a series I’m writing on better technical interviews. I’d love your feedback in the comments! Part 1 - What’s the Point? Part 2 - P...
Better Technical Interviews: Part 3 – The Interview Itself
This post is part of a series I’m writing on better technical interviews. I’d love your feedback in the comments!
Better Technical Interviews: Part 2 – Preparation
This post is part of a series I’m writing on better technical interviews. I’d love your feedback in the comments!
Better Technical Interviews: Part 1 – What’s the point?
This post is part of a series I’m writing on better technical interviews. I’d love your feedback in the comments! Part 1 - What’s the Point? Part 2 - P...
github
Beautiful .NET Test Reports Using GitHub Actions
I know some folks who would like to move to GitHub Actions from Azure DevOps, but would really miss the “Test View” that Azure DevOps provides. Let’s see if ...
My Process for Reviewing Pull Requests
I often do a lot of code reviews and pull request reviews. As a follow-up to my article on submitting pull requests, I wanted to talk about how I review them...
How To Specify Pairs of Items in GitHub Actions Matrix Strategies
Came across this and wasn’t aware of it (though it makes total sense in retrospect), so I figured I’d pass the tip along.
How to Disable GitHub Actions in a Forked Project
Some GitHub repositories have GitHub Actions with helpful automation. Because actions are stored in the .github folder within a codebase, they come over alon...
How to Use GitHub Codespaces With Your docfx Project
A little over a year ago, we re-launched the NUnit docs site using the docfx project. Since then, we’ve built out the workflow a bit – adding spell-checking,...
Adding Spell Checking to my Blog’s Build Process with GitHub Actions and cSpell
I’m always worried I’ll have a typo in my blog posts, and I suspected I had a few lying around in these pages. I don’t like that, so I decided to fix it and ...
How to Force git to Prompt You For a Password
A fun git challenge! I had to make a request against a remote repository in git. The only issue is that only a shared GitHub account had access, not my own a...
Adding Markdown Linting to my Blog’s Build Process with GitHub Actions and markdownlint
I’ll confess, reader. My markdown formatting was messy. I don’t like messy, so I decided to fix it and automate it.
How to rename your default branch away from master while using GitHub pages
There’s been some discussion lately about the term master for a branch as insensitive and a term that can make others feel uncomfortable and rise to the leve...
How to: Deploy GitHub Pages on a Schedule to Publish Future Posts
I have a Jekyll-based blog that is deployed via GitHub Pages. Because Jekyll is a static site generator, you can’t release future posts unless you trigger a ...
devops
Beautiful .NET Test Reports Using GitHub Actions
I know some folks who would like to move to GitHub Actions from Azure DevOps, but would really miss the “Test View” that Azure DevOps provides. Let’s see if ...
How to Set up Netlify Deploys for Docfx using GitHub Actions
We currently use docfx to publish the NUnit docs, because it has a lovely capability of generating docs for our API reference in addition to all our articles.
The Power of Thinking About “The Thing After the Thing”
I’ve long been a fan of The Phoenix Project, and grateful for the ways its introduced so many to DevOps culture and practices. One of my favorite personal “a...
How To Specify Pairs of Items in GitHub Actions Matrix Strategies
Came across this and wasn’t aware of it (though it makes total sense in retrospect), so I figured I’d pass the tip along.
How To Automate AWS CloudFront Distribution Folder Changes When Deploying a Static Web Site
I was working on a project that deployed its UI, an Angular site, to an S3 bucket that was then placed behind CloudFront.
What does the “runs-on” machine type of a GitHub Action mean?
Received a really good question recently and I thought I’d post the result here.
Fix: Azure DevOps “An image does not exist locally with the tag”
I was working on a livestream recently when I ran into an issue attempting to push a docker container to a private registry in Azure DevOps.
Automagically Update Your Package Dependencies With Dependabot – For Free!
With the news that Dependabot has been acquired by GitHub, I thought it was a good time to explain what a phenomenal help I find this tool to be, and how you...
hiring
How to Write a Successful Job Description for a Developer Role
I got a surprising amount of positive feedback on a job description I wrote recently, both internally and from candidates. So, I figured I’d write up my proc...
Tips to Help Yourself Stand Out During a Tech Job Search
I recently just powered through a bunch of applications for some roles I had open. As a hiring manager, I want to mention some simple things that can set you...
How I Created an Automated (and Humane!) Hiring Process Using Jira
My employer, SCT Software, is a small company of around 50 people. We needed to hire 2 developers, and we wanted to do it all in-house. Beyond the economics ...
Better Technical Interviews: Part 5 – My Common Interview Questions
This post is part of a series I’m writing on better technical interviews. I’d love your feedback in the comments!
Better Technical Interviews: Part 4 – My Opinions on Various Techniques
This post is part of a series I’m writing on better technical interviews. I’d love your feedback in the comments! Part 1 - What’s the Point? Part 2 - P...
Better Technical Interviews: Part 3 – The Interview Itself
This post is part of a series I’m writing on better technical interviews. I’d love your feedback in the comments!
Better Technical Interviews: Part 2 – Preparation
This post is part of a series I’m writing on better technical interviews. I’d love your feedback in the comments!
Better Technical Interviews: Part 1 – What’s the point?
This post is part of a series I’m writing on better technical interviews. I’d love your feedback in the comments! Part 1 - What’s the Point? Part 2 - P...
tips
Tips for Getting Un-Stuck on a Blogging Journey
…if I may be so bold as to offer those.
Tips to Help Yourself Stand Out During a Tech Job Search
I recently just powered through a bunch of applications for some roles I had open. As a hiring manager, I want to mention some simple things that can set you...
The Power of Thinking About “The Thing After the Thing”
I’ve long been a fan of The Phoenix Project, and grateful for the ways its introduced so many to DevOps culture and practices. One of my favorite personal “a...
How I Use Trello as a “Continuous Travel Packing List”
We recently got back from a big trip, and that reminded me I’ve been meaning to publish a tip on how Trello has saved me a lot of time and hassle around trav...
My Process for Submitting Pull Requests
I’ve been asked a lot of times about my process for submitting pull requests, so I figured I’d write it up!
How to Disable GitHub Actions in a Forked Project
Some GitHub repositories have GitHub Actions with helpful automation. Because actions are stored in the .github folder within a codebase, they come over alon...
How to Use Custom Comparers in NUnit
Occasionally, you may need to compare objects in an automated test. Perhaps you have a complex sort of comparison that you’d like to check, or adding the com...
How to: Check your Jekyll-based blog for dead links
I thought someone might find this quick tip useful, so I’m writing it up.
ci
Beautiful .NET Test Reports Using GitHub Actions
I know some folks who would like to move to GitHub Actions from Azure DevOps, but would really miss the “Test View” that Azure DevOps provides. Let’s see if ...
How to Set up Netlify Deploys for Docfx using GitHub Actions
We currently use docfx to publish the NUnit docs, because it has a lovely capability of generating docs for our API reference in addition to all our articles.
What does the “runs-on” machine type of a GitHub Action mean?
Received a really good question recently and I thought I’d post the result here.
How to: Use AzureSignTool to sign files with Azure DevOps using a certificate in Azure Key Vault
Automated code signing for fun and (hopefully someday) profit.
Avoid the Blue/Green Deployment Blues: Watch out for these 10 Pitfalls
I’ve seen organizations make some …interesting decisions around the concept of “blue/green deployments.” In some cases, these changes can lead to some pretty...
How to: “warm up” an environment using PowerShell and TeamCity
Prior to running some tests on a .NET web application, we wanted to send a request to the environment to “warm it up” – so that the initial start of the appl...
How to: Show Jasmine test results in TeamCity
A colleague wanted to surface their jasmine tests in a TeamCity build system. Wanted to document the steps I used to help them solve their problem. Setting ...
How to: Call a TeamCity build from OctopusDeploy
We have an OctopusDeploy deployment that deploys our code to an automated acceptance test environment. And we have a TeamCity build that executes our automat...
automation
I Built a Tiny Tool for 1-on-1 Meeting Topics!
Just a quick announcement: I built https://1on1.help as a tiny tool to help source questions & topics for one on one meetings.
Creating and Modeling “Sensible Happy Paths” for Software Team Success
Happy paths compound over time.
How I Created an Automated (and Humane!) Hiring Process Using Jira
My employer, SCT Software, is a small company of around 50 people. We needed to hire 2 developers, and we wanted to do it all in-house. Beyond the economics ...
Ensuring Santa’s Success With Automated Tests (C# Advent 2021)
An exploration of TDD in the spirit of the season.
Santa Sleigh: xUnit Edition
Solving our C# Advent 2021 challenge using the xUnit framework.
Santa Sleigh: NUnit Edition
Solving our C# Advent 2021 challenge using the NUnit framework.
How to Use a Macro to Shorten Link Text in Google Sheets
Google Sheets is a phenomenal tool for group collaboration, but occasionally I wish it could do a little bit more. Recently, I had 400+ links with their ful...
How to Disable GitHub Actions in a Forked Project
Some GitHub repositories have GitHub Actions with helpful automation. Because actions are stored in the .github folder within a codebase, they come over alon...
azure
Solved: Blazor IdentityServer 500.30 Error (ANCM Issue)
Ran into this this issue while hacking on a problem with my Dad, Jim Killeen. (Side note: looking at tech stuff with my Dad remains one of my great joys in l...
How to: Move Azure Resources into another Azure AD
I recently completed some work for a client. The work had been done within my company’s Azure org, but I wanted to ensure the client had full control of thei...
Solved: .NET Core Azure AD in Docker Container Incorrectly Uses a non-https redirect URI
I’ve hit this problem several times and only recently figured it out.
Fix: Azure DevOps “An image does not exist locally with the tag”
I was working on a livestream recently when I ran into an issue attempting to push a docker container to a private registry in Azure DevOps.
How to: Use AzureSignTool to sign files with Azure DevOps using a certificate in Azure Key Vault
Automated code signing for fun and (hopefully someday) profit.
Adventures in Azure Architecture: A Home Desktop Setup
I recently connected with someone on Twitter who had some questions about architecture for a personal setup in the cloud. I thought the challenge was interes...
Tutorial: An Automated reading list with Feedly and Azure Functions
I’ve been a fan of RSS feeds for a long time. I love curating a collection of knowledge that streams to me at my pace, and I consider feeds to be a fundament...
jekyll
Adding Spell Checking to my Blog’s Build Process with GitHub Actions and cSpell
I’m always worried I’ll have a typo in my blog posts, and I suspected I had a few lying around in these pages. I don’t like that, so I decided to fix it and ...
Adding Markdown Linting to my Blog’s Build Process with GitHub Actions and markdownlint
I’ll confess, reader. My markdown formatting was messy. I don’t like messy, so I decided to fix it and automate it.
Building my Jekyll blog with Ubuntu on WSL2
The steps weren’t entirely obvious to me so I thought I’d write about it here for others who are newer to that ecosystem.
How to rename your default branch away from master while using GitHub pages
There’s been some discussion lately about the term master for a branch as insensitive and a term that can make others feel uncomfortable and rise to the leve...
Jekyll Two Ways on Windows: Installing & building Jekyll / GitHub Pages blogs with Ruby on Windows 10
I wanted to write up these steps as I took the time to get my blog up and running on my new laptop, in case it helps someone else get started. Today, we’ll ...
How to: Deploy GitHub Pages on a Schedule to Publish Future Posts
I have a Jekyll-based blog that is deployed via GitHub Pages. Because Jekyll is a static site generator, you can’t release future posts unless you trigger a ...
How to: Check your Jekyll-based blog for dead links
I thought someone might find this quick tip useful, so I’m writing it up.
testing
How To: Test Logging when Using Microsoft.Extensions.Logging and Serilog
There are a lot of different ways to test logging, and quite a few opinions about how to do so. I recently found what feels like a very pleasant approach for...
Ensuring Santa’s Success With Automated Tests (C# Advent 2021)
An exploration of TDD in the spirit of the season.
Santa Sleigh: xUnit Edition
Solving our C# Advent 2021 challenge using the xUnit framework.
Santa Sleigh: NUnit Edition
Solving our C# Advent 2021 challenge using the NUnit framework.
Cool things I learned about NUnit while re-launching the docs
While porting the NUnit docs to a new, modern web site I had a great opportunity – to actually read a ton of the docs!
Announcement: I am Now the Lead for the NUnit Docs Project!
An OSS journey with a fun result.
Quick tip: NTLM / Windows pass-through authentication with Selenium and ChromeDriver
Challenge I was on a project for a web application that used Windows Active Directory authentication for internal users. We had some automated acceptance t...
oss
On Moq and our Part in the OSS Sustainability Social Contract
Let they who are without OSS sin cast the first stone. Let’s look inward on OSS sustainability issues.
My Process for Submitting Pull Requests
I’ve been asked a lot of times about my process for submitting pull requests, so I figured I’d write it up!
Introducing TF WhatsUp, a Tool for Better Terraform Notes
Scratching a development itch to make Terraform provider upgrades easier.
My #hacktoberfest Theme: Adding Spellcheck to Docs. Join Me!
Systematizing OSS contributions, and steps for you to jump in.
.NET OSS Maintainer Support Survey – The Results!
The results are in. Where do we go from here?
Hot off the Press: The .NET OSS Maintainer Support Survey!
Learning what maintainers need most, so we can take action.
Announcement: I am Now the Lead for the NUnit Docs Project!
An OSS journey with a fun result.
community
On Moq and our Part in the OSS Sustainability Social Contract
Let they who are without OSS sin cast the first stone. Let’s look inward on OSS sustainability issues.
.NET OSS Maintainer Support Survey – The Results!
The results are in. Where do we go from here?
Hot off the Press: The .NET OSS Maintainer Support Survey!
Learning what maintainers need most, so we can take action.
Announcement: I am Now the Lead for the NUnit Docs Project!
An OSS journey with a fun result.
From the AMA: “How did you become a Microsoft MVP?”
I run an ongoing AMA (ask me anything) on GitHub where folks can drop questions. Give it a try! Occasionally I’ll post topics here that I think a wider audie...
That Time I Almost Got Elected to the .NET Foundation Board of Directors
The .NET Foundation Board elections recently took place, and I was the last one eliminated, one of my proudest accomplishments to date (the link, unfortunate...
github actions
My #hacktoberfest Theme: Adding Spellcheck to Docs. Join Me!
Systematizing OSS contributions, and steps for you to jump in.
How to Disable GitHub Actions in a Forked Project
Some GitHub repositories have GitHub Actions with helpful automation. Because actions are stored in the .github folder within a codebase, they come over alon...
Adding Spell Checking to my Blog’s Build Process with GitHub Actions and cSpell
I’m always worried I’ll have a typo in my blog posts, and I suspected I had a few lying around in these pages. I don’t like that, so I decided to fix it and ...
Adding Markdown Linting to my Blog’s Build Process with GitHub Actions and markdownlint
I’ll confess, reader. My markdown formatting was messy. I don’t like messy, so I decided to fix it and automate it.
What does the “runs-on” machine type of a GitHub Action mean?
Received a really good question recently and I thought I’d post the result here.
How to: Deploy GitHub Pages on a Schedule to Publish Future Posts
I have a Jekyll-based blog that is deployed via GitHub Pages. Because Jekyll is a static site generator, you can’t release future posts unless you trigger a ...
docker
How to Run Docker-based .NET apps in JetBrains Rider Without “Fast Mode”
In most cases, containerized .NET apps run just fine “out of the box”. IDEs such as Visual Studio and JetBrains Rider provide a helpful experience called “Fa...
Extracting VA Townhall Comments on Youngkin’s Reversed School Protections for Transgender Students
Analyzing Reactions, and providing a little of my own.
What does the “runs-on” machine type of a GitHub Action mean?
Received a really good question recently and I thought I’d post the result here.
Solved: .NET Core Azure AD in Docker Container Incorrectly Uses a non-https redirect URI
I’ve hit this problem several times and only recently figured it out.
Fix: Azure DevOps “An image does not exist locally with the tag”
I was working on a livestream recently when I ran into an issue attempting to push a docker container to a private registry in Azure DevOps.
How to: Deploy GitHub Pages on a Schedule to Publish Future Posts
I have a Jekyll-based blog that is deployed via GitHub Pages. Because Jekyll is a static site generator, you can’t release future posts unless you trigger a ...
nunit
How to Set up Netlify Deploys for Docfx using GitHub Actions
We currently use docfx to publish the NUnit docs, because it has a lovely capability of generating docs for our API reference in addition to all our articles.
Ensuring Santa’s Success With Automated Tests (C# Advent 2021)
An exploration of TDD in the spirit of the season.
Santa Sleigh: NUnit Edition
Solving our C# Advent 2021 challenge using the NUnit framework.
How to Use Custom Comparers in NUnit
Occasionally, you may need to compare objects in an automated test. Perhaps you have a complex sort of comparison that you’d like to check, or adding the com...
Cool things I learned about NUnit while re-launching the docs
While porting the NUnit docs to a new, modern web site I had a great opportunity – to actually read a ton of the docs!
Announcement: I am Now the Lead for the NUnit Docs Project!
An OSS journey with a fun result.
csharp
Ensuring Santa’s Success With Automated Tests (C# Advent 2021)
An exploration of TDD in the spirit of the season.
Santa Sleigh: xUnit Edition
Solving our C# Advent 2021 challenge using the xUnit framework.
Santa Sleigh: NUnit Edition
Solving our C# Advent 2021 challenge using the NUnit framework.
Cool things I learned about NUnit while re-launching the docs
While porting the NUnit docs to a new, modern web site I had a great opportunity – to actually read a ton of the docs!
Tutorial: An Automated reading list with Feedly and Azure Functions
I’ve been a fan of RSS feeds for a long time. I love curating a collection of knowledge that streams to me at my pace, and I consider feeds to be a fundament...
cd
Beautiful .NET Test Reports Using GitHub Actions
I know some folks who would like to move to GitHub Actions from Azure DevOps, but would really miss the “Test View” that Azure DevOps provides. Let’s see if ...
How to: Use AzureSignTool to sign files with Azure DevOps using a certificate in Azure Key Vault
Automated code signing for fun and (hopefully someday) profit.
Avoid the Blue/Green Deployment Blues: Watch out for these 10 Pitfalls
I’ve seen organizations make some …interesting decisions around the concept of “blue/green deployments.” In some cases, these changes can lead to some pretty...
How to: “warm up” an environment using PowerShell and TeamCity
Prior to running some tests on a .NET web application, we wanted to send a request to the environment to “warm it up” – so that the initial start of the appl...
How to: Call a TeamCity build from OctopusDeploy
We have an OctopusDeploy deployment that deploys our code to an automated acceptance test environment. And we have a TeamCity build that executes our automat...
powershell
How To: Use Azure AD Powershell to Work With Extension Properties (User Attributes)
Recently I worked on a project that involved working with Azure Active Directory B2C. As part of the Azure AD set up, we had created some extension propertie...
Quick Tip: A Keyboard Shortcut to Start a Taskbar App as an Administrator
I can’t believe I hadn’t come across this yet! Posting in case you can benefit from it, too.
Getting Started With PowerShell Core in Windows Terminal
I believe in scripting and automation, and I have come to love PowerShell for its eloquence, especially in a Windows environment.
Solved: Blazor IdentityServer 500.30 Error (ANCM Issue)
Ran into this this issue while hacking on a problem with my Dad, Jim Killeen. (Side note: looking at tech stuff with my Dad remains one of my great joys in l...
How to: “warm up” an environment using PowerShell and TeamCity
Prior to running some tests on a .NET web application, we wanted to send a request to the environment to “warm it up” – so that the initial start of the appl...
.net
Beautiful .NET Test Reports Using GitHub Actions
I know some folks who would like to move to GitHub Actions from Azure DevOps, but would really miss the “Test View” that Azure DevOps provides. Let’s see if ...
Announcement: Introducing FlavorsOf.NET!
I’d received more than a few questions about the naming and differences between .NET Framework, .NET Core, .NET 5, Mono, Xamarin, etc.
Solved: .NET 5 “SEC_ERROR_INADEQUATE_KEY_USAGE” in Firefox
Ran across an issue I had to fix where a .NET 5 application, which happened to be running in a Docker container (this ended up being irrelevant), couldn’t st...
Utilizing Bogus with the Builder Pattern for better Mocks
I was recently working with the excellent Octokit.NET library for working with GitHub, and like many developers, I needed to write a test.
Thoughts on the .NET Foundation’s Revised Election Process
Updated: This post has some updates to include responses from Claire, which were helpful and clarifying in several instances below.
.NET
How to Run Docker-based .NET apps in JetBrains Rider Without “Fast Mode”
In most cases, containerized .NET apps run just fine “out of the box”. IDEs such as Visual Studio and JetBrains Rider provide a helpful experience called “Fa...
How To: Test Logging when Using Microsoft.Extensions.Logging and Serilog
There are a lot of different ways to test logging, and quite a few opinions about how to do so. I recently found what feels like a very pleasant approach for...
I’m Running for the .NET Foundation’s Board of Directors!
I’m excited to announce my candidacy for the .NET Foundation’s Board of Directors!
Tutorial: An Automated reading list with Feedly and Azure Functions
I’ve been a fan of RSS feeds for a long time. I love curating a collection of knowledge that streams to me at my pace, and I consider feeds to be a fundament...
github pages
Adding Spell Checking to my Blog’s Build Process with GitHub Actions and cSpell
I’m always worried I’ll have a typo in my blog posts, and I suspected I had a few lying around in these pages. I don’t like that, so I decided to fix it and ...
Adding Markdown Linting to my Blog’s Build Process with GitHub Actions and markdownlint
I’ll confess, reader. My markdown formatting was messy. I don’t like messy, so I decided to fix it and automate it.
Jekyll Two Ways on Windows: Installing & building Jekyll / GitHub Pages blogs with Ruby on Windows 10
I wanted to write up these steps as I took the time to get my blog up and running on my new laptop, in case it helps someone else get started. Today, we’ll ...
How to: Deploy GitHub Pages on a Schedule to Publish Future Posts
I have a Jekyll-based blog that is deployed via GitHub Pages. Because Jekyll is a static site generator, you can’t release future posts unless you trigger a ...
docs
ICMYI: Featured on Microsoft Learn Contributor Stories!
Microsoft was kind enough to feature me in a Microsoft Learn Contributor Story!
How to Use GitHub Codespaces With Your docfx Project
A little over a year ago, we re-launched the NUnit docs site using the docfx project. Since then, we’ve built out the workflow a bit – adding spell-checking,...
Cool things I learned about NUnit while re-launching the docs
While porting the NUnit docs to a new, modern web site I had a great opportunity – to actually read a ton of the docs!
Announcement: I am Now the Lead for the NUnit Docs Project!
An OSS journey with a fun result.
personal
A Reflection: 6 Months in my New Position
Taking stock.
How I Use Trello as a “Continuous Travel Packing List”
We recently got back from a big trip, and that reminded me I’ve been meaning to publish a tip on how Trello has saved me a lot of time and hassle around trav...
What I Learned From Taking a Two-Week Vacation for my Honeymoon
My wife and I recently took our honeymoon a year and a half after we got married. It was the longest vacation I’ve ever taken, and probably the first one I c...
interviews
How I Created an Automated (and Humane!) Hiring Process Using Jira
My employer, SCT Software, is a small company of around 50 people. We needed to hire 2 developers, and we wanted to do it all in-house. Beyond the economics ...
Better Technical Interviews: Part 2 – Preparation
This post is part of a series I’m writing on better technical interviews. I’d love your feedback in the comments!
Better Technical Interviews: Part 1 – What’s the point?
This post is part of a series I’m writing on better technical interviews. I’d love your feedback in the comments! Part 1 - What’s the Point? Part 2 - P...
interviewing
Better Technical Interviews: Part 5 – My Common Interview Questions
This post is part of a series I’m writing on better technical interviews. I’d love your feedback in the comments!
Better Technical Interviews: Part 4 – My Opinions on Various Techniques
This post is part of a series I’m writing on better technical interviews. I’d love your feedback in the comments! Part 1 - What’s the Point? Part 2 - P...
Better Technical Interviews: Part 3 – The Interview Itself
This post is part of a series I’m writing on better technical interviews. I’d love your feedback in the comments!
ruby
Building my Jekyll blog with Ubuntu on WSL2
The steps weren’t entirely obvious to me so I thought I’d write about it here for others who are newer to that ecosystem.
Jekyll Two Ways on Windows: Installing & building Jekyll / GitHub Pages blogs with Ruby on Windows 10
I wanted to write up these steps as I took the time to get my blog up and running on my new laptop, in case it helps someone else get started. Today, we’ll ...
How to: Check your Jekyll-based blog for dead links
I thought someone might find this quick tip useful, so I’m writing it up.
teamcity
How to: “warm up” an environment using PowerShell and TeamCity
Prior to running some tests on a .NET web application, we wanted to send a request to the environment to “warm it up” – so that the initial start of the appl...
How to: Show Jasmine test results in TeamCity
A colleague wanted to surface their jasmine tests in a TeamCity build system. Wanted to document the steps I used to help them solve their problem. Setting ...
How to: Call a TeamCity build from OctopusDeploy
We have an OctopusDeploy deployment that deploys our code to an automated acceptance test environment. And we have a TeamCity build that executes our automat...
azure devops
How to rename your default branch away from master while using GitHub pages
There’s been some discussion lately about the term master for a branch as insensitive and a term that can make others feel uncomfortable and rise to the leve...
Fix: Azure DevOps “An image does not exist locally with the tag”
I was working on a livestream recently when I ran into an issue attempting to push a docker container to a private registry in Azure DevOps.
How to: Use AzureSignTool to sign files with Azure DevOps using a certificate in Azure Key Vault
Automated code signing for fun and (hopefully someday) profit.
advent
Ensuring Santa’s Success With Automated Tests (C# Advent 2021)
An exploration of TDD in the spirit of the season.
Santa Sleigh: xUnit Edition
Solving our C# Advent 2021 challenge using the xUnit framework.
Santa Sleigh: NUnit Edition
Solving our C# Advent 2021 challenge using the NUnit framework.
process
How to Write a Successful Job Description for a Developer Role
I got a surprising amount of positive feedback on a job description I wrote recently, both internally and from candidates. So, I figured I’d write up my proc...
My Process for Reviewing Pull Requests
I often do a lot of code reviews and pull request reviews. As a follow-up to my article on submitting pull requests, I wanted to talk about how I review them...
My Process for Submitting Pull Requests
I’ve been asked a lot of times about my process for submitting pull requests, so I figured I’d write it up!
communication
Shrink Your Meeting “Feedback Loops”
How I committed to making meetings better.
I Built a Tiny Tool for 1-on-1 Meeting Topics!
Just a quick announcement: I built https://1on1.help as a tiny tool to help source questions & topics for one on one meetings.
Creating and Modeling “Sensible Happy Paths” for Software Team Success
Happy paths compound over time.
leadership
I Built a Tiny Tool for 1-on-1 Meeting Topics!
Just a quick announcement: I built https://1on1.help as a tiny tool to help source questions & topics for one on one meetings.
A Reflection: 6 Months in my New Position
Taking stock.
Creating and Modeling “Sensible Happy Paths” for Software Team Success
Happy paths compound over time.
tutorial
Automagically Update Your Package Dependencies With Dependabot – For Free!
With the news that Dependabot has been acquired by GitHub, I thought it was a good time to explain what a phenomenal help I find this tool to be, and how you...
Tutorial: An Automated reading list with Feedly and Azure Functions
I’ve been a fan of RSS feeds for a long time. I love curating a collection of knowledge that streams to me at my pace, and I consider feeds to be a fundament...
architecture
Adventures in Azure Architecture: A Home Desktop Setup
I recently connected with someone on Twitter who had some questions about architecture for a personal setup in the cloud. I thought the challenge was interes...
Software/Solution Architects: The Sommeliers of the IT World
I recently had a colleague ask me about how to describe the difference between an great software architect and a mediocre one, or how to deal with “ivory tow...
balance
From the AMA: “How do you find/make time to stay productive?”
I run an ongoing AMA (ask me anything) on GitHub where folks can drop questions. Give it a try! Occasionally I’ll post topics here that I think a wider audie...
What I Learned From Taking a Two-Week Vacation for my Honeymoon
My wife and I recently took our honeymoon a year and a half after we got married. It was the longest vacation I’ve ever taken, and probably the first one I c...
productivity
From the AMA: “How do you find/make time to stay productive?”
I run an ongoing AMA (ask me anything) on GitHub where folks can drop questions. Give it a try! Occasionally I’ll post topics here that I think a wider audie...
What I Learned From Taking a Two-Week Vacation for my Honeymoon
My wife and I recently took our honeymoon a year and a half after we got married. It was the longest vacation I’ve ever taken, and probably the first one I c...
agile
Help Me Help You: How your RFPs are setting you up for failure before you begin
Are you someone who has a hand in crafting Requests for Proposals (RFPs) for your company? This article is for you, and is based off of some things I’ve seen...
Agile Survival Guide: Retrospective Safety
I’m considering a series called “Agile Survival Guide”, designed to muse on / attempt to tackle some common things I’ve seen happen on projects that are atte...
authentication
Solved: .NET Core Azure AD in Docker Container Incorrectly Uses a non-https redirect URI
I’ve hit this problem several times and only recently figured it out.
Quick tip: NTLM / Windows pass-through authentication with Selenium and ChromeDriver
Challenge I was on a project for a web application that used Windows Active Directory authentication for internal users. We had some automated acceptance t...
quick tips
Quick Tip: A Keyboard Shortcut to Start a Taskbar App as an Administrator
I can’t believe I hadn’t come across this yet! Posting in case you can benefit from it, too.
Quick tip: NTLM / Windows pass-through authentication with Selenium and ChromeDriver
Challenge I was on a project for a web application that used Windows Active Directory authentication for internal users. We had some automated acceptance t...
tests
Utilizing Bogus with the Builder Pattern for better Mocks
I was recently working with the excellent Octokit.NET library for working with GitHub, and like many developers, I needed to write a test.
How to: Show Jasmine test results in TeamCity
A colleague wanted to surface their jasmine tests in a TeamCity build system. Wanted to document the steps I used to help them solve their problem. Setting ...
deployments
Avoid the Blue/Green Deployment Blues: Watch out for these 10 Pitfalls
I’ve seen organizations make some …interesting decisions around the concept of “blue/green deployments.” In some cases, these changes can lead to some pretty...
How to: “warm up” an environment using PowerShell and TeamCity
Prior to running some tests on a .NET web application, we wanted to send a request to the environment to “warm it up” – so that the initial start of the appl...
wsl
Building my Jekyll blog with Ubuntu on WSL2
The steps weren’t entirely obvious to me so I thought I’d write about it here for others who are newer to that ecosystem.
Jekyll Two Ways on Windows: Installing & building Jekyll / GitHub Pages blogs with Ruby on Windows 10
I wanted to write up these steps as I took the time to get my blog up and running on my new laptop, in case it helps someone else get started. Today, we’ll ...
chocolatey
Getting Started With PowerShell Core in Windows Terminal
I believe in scripting and automation, and I have come to love PowerShell for its eloquence, especially in a Windows environment.
How to: Set up a new Windows laptop quickly (with some prep and tooling beforehand)
I recently got a new laptop (which is incredible! and which I’ll do another post on shortly.) Shout-out to my employer, Excella, who picks up 80% of the cost...
security
Solved: Blazor IdentityServer 500.30 Error (ANCM Issue)
Ran into this this issue while hacking on a problem with my Dad, Jim Killeen. (Side note: looking at tech stuff with my Dad remains one of my great joys in l...
How to: Use AzureSignTool to sign files with Azure DevOps using a certificate in Azure Key Vault
Automated code signing for fun and (hopefully someday) profit.
opinion
When does it make sense to use containers in a development workflow?
Inspired by Immo Landwerth’s tweet:
Thoughts on the .NET Foundation’s Revised Election Process
Updated: This post has some updates to include responses from Claire, which were helpful and clarifying in several instances below.
containers
When does it make sense to use containers in a development workflow?
Inspired by Immo Landwerth’s tweet:
Solved: .NET Core Azure AD in Docker Container Incorrectly Uses a non-https redirect URI
I’ve hit this problem several times and only recently figured it out.
management
I Built a Tiny Tool for 1-on-1 Meeting Topics!
Just a quick announcement: I built https://1on1.help as a tiny tool to help source questions & topics for one on one meetings.
How to: Move Azure Resources into another Azure AD
I recently completed some work for a client. The work had been done within my company’s Azure org, but I wanted to ensure the client had full control of thei...
certificate
Solved: .NET 5 “SEC_ERROR_INADEQUATE_KEY_USAGE” in Firefox
Ran across an issue I had to fix where a .NET 5 application, which happened to be running in a Docker container (this ended up being irrelevant), couldn’t st...
Solved: Blazor IdentityServer 500.30 Error (ANCM Issue)
Ran into this this issue while hacking on a problem with my Dad, Jim Killeen. (Side note: looking at tech stuff with my Dad remains one of my great joys in l...
ama
From the AMA: “How do you find/make time to stay productive?”
I run an ongoing AMA (ask me anything) on GitHub where folks can drop questions. Give it a try! Occasionally I’ll post topics here that I think a wider audie...
From the AMA: “How did you become a Microsoft MVP?”
I run an ongoing AMA (ask me anything) on GitHub where folks can drop questions. Give it a try! Occasionally I’ll post topics here that I think a wider audie...
OSS
ICMYI: Featured on Microsoft Learn Contributor Stories!
Microsoft was kind enough to feature me in a Microsoft Learn Contributor Story!
How to Contribute to OSS Projects When You’re Unfamiliar With Their Code
It can seem daunting, but there are some ways in.
windows terminal
Quick Tip: A Keyboard Shortcut to Start a Taskbar App as an Administrator
I can’t believe I hadn’t come across this yet! Posting in case you can benefit from it, too.
Getting Started With PowerShell Core in Windows Terminal
I believe in scripting and automation, and I have come to love PowerShell for its eloquence, especially in a Windows environment.
shells
Quick Tip: A Keyboard Shortcut to Start a Taskbar App as an Administrator
I can’t believe I hadn’t come across this yet! Posting in case you can benefit from it, too.
Getting Started With PowerShell Core in Windows Terminal
I believe in scripting and automation, and I have come to love PowerShell for its eloquence, especially in a Windows environment.
shortcuts
How to Keep a VM / Desktop “awake”
A little AutoHotkey goes a long way.
Quick Tip: A Keyboard Shortcut to Start a Taskbar App as an Administrator
I can’t believe I hadn’t come across this yet! Posting in case you can benefit from it, too.
tools
How to Clean up a Messed up MP3 Library With Metatogger
Metatogger is my favorite .NET app of the week after it helped me recover my Mother-in-Law’s MP3 collection. I figured I’d talk a little bit about how I used...
Using Calendly to Run Remote Coaching Sessions
A little while back, as part of a client assignment, I ran some remote one-on-one DevOps coaching sessions for a group of about 30 people. This was newer ter...
organization
How I Use Trello as a “Continuous Travel Packing List”
We recently got back from a big trip, and that reminded me I’ve been meaning to publish a tip on how Trello has saved me a lot of time and hassle around trav...
How to Clean up a Messed up MP3 Library With Metatogger
Metatogger is my favorite .NET app of the week after it helped me recover my Mother-in-Law’s MP3 collection. I figured I’d talk a little bit about how I used...
markdown
Adding Spell Checking to my Blog’s Build Process with GitHub Actions and cSpell
I’m always worried I’ll have a typo in my blog posts, and I suspected I had a few lying around in these pages. I don’t like that, so I decided to fix it and ...
Adding Markdown Linting to my Blog’s Build Process with GitHub Actions and markdownlint
I’ll confess, reader. My markdown formatting was messy. I don’t like messy, so I decided to fix it and automate it.
spellcheck
My #hacktoberfest Theme: Adding Spellcheck to Docs. Join Me!
Systematizing OSS contributions, and steps for you to jump in.
Adding Spell Checking to my Blog’s Build Process with GitHub Actions and cSpell
I’m always worried I’ll have a typo in my blog posts, and I suspected I had a few lying around in these pages. I don’t like that, so I decided to fix it and ...
cspell
My #hacktoberfest Theme: Adding Spellcheck to Docs. Join Me!
Systematizing OSS contributions, and steps for you to jump in.
Adding Spell Checking to my Blog’s Build Process with GitHub Actions and cSpell
I’m always worried I’ll have a typo in my blog posts, and I suspected I had a few lying around in these pages. I don’t like that, so I decided to fix it and ...
.net core
Announcement: Introducing FlavorsOf.NET!
I’d received more than a few questions about the naming and differences between .NET Framework, .NET Core, .NET 5, Mono, Xamarin, etc.
Solved: .NET 5 “SEC_ERROR_INADEQUATE_KEY_USAGE” in Firefox
Ran across an issue I had to fix where a .NET 5 application, which happened to be running in a Docker container (this ended up being irrelevant), couldn’t st...
docfx
How to Set up Netlify Deploys for Docfx using GitHub Actions
We currently use docfx to publish the NUnit docs, because it has a lovely capability of generating docs for our API reference in addition to all our articles.
How to Use GitHub Codespaces With Your docfx Project
A little over a year ago, we re-launched the NUnit docs site using the docfx project. Since then, we’ve built out the workflow a bit – adding spell-checking,...
xunit
Ensuring Santa’s Success With Automated Tests (C# Advent 2021)
An exploration of TDD in the spirit of the season.
Santa Sleigh: xUnit Edition
Solving our C# Advent 2021 challenge using the xUnit framework.
survey
.NET OSS Maintainer Support Survey – The Results!
The results are in. Where do we go from here?
Hot off the Press: The .NET OSS Maintainer Support Survey!
Learning what maintainers need most, so we can take action.
pull-requests
My Process for Reviewing Pull Requests
I often do a lot of code reviews and pull request reviews. As a follow-up to my article on submitting pull requests, I wanted to talk about how I review them...
My Process for Submitting Pull Requests
I’ve been asked a lot of times about my process for submitting pull requests, so I figured I’d write it up!
prs
My Process for Reviewing Pull Requests
I often do a lot of code reviews and pull request reviews. As a follow-up to my article on submitting pull requests, I wanted to talk about how I review them...
My Process for Submitting Pull Requests
I’ve been asked a lot of times about my process for submitting pull requests, so I figured I’d write it up!
kanban
How I Created an Automated (and Humane!) Hiring Process Using Jira
My employer, SCT Software, is a small company of around 50 people. We needed to hire 2 developers, and we wanted to do it all in-house. Beyond the economics ...
How I Use Trello as a “Continuous Travel Packing List”
We recently got back from a big trip, and that reminded me I’ve been meaning to publish a tip on how Trello has saved me a lot of time and hassle around trav...
humancenteredhiring
How to Write a Successful Job Description for a Developer Role
I got a surprising amount of positive feedback on a job description I wrote recently, both internally and from candidates. So, I figured I’d write up my proc...
Tips to Help Yourself Stand Out During a Tech Job Search
I recently just powered through a bunch of applications for some roles I had open. As a hiring manager, I want to mention some simple things that can set you...
meetings
Shrink Your Meeting “Feedback Loops”
How I committed to making meetings better.
I Built a Tiny Tool for 1-on-1 Meeting Topics!
Just a quick announcement: I built https://1on1.help as a tiny tool to help source questions & topics for one on one meetings.
githubactions
Beautiful .NET Test Reports Using GitHub Actions
I know some folks who would like to move to GitHub Actions from Azure DevOps, but would really miss the “Test View” that Azure DevOps provides. Let’s see if ...
How to Set up Netlify Deploys for Docfx using GitHub Actions
We currently use docfx to publish the NUnit docs, because it has a lovely capability of generating docs for our API reference in addition to all our articles.
writing
Tips for Getting Un-Stuck on a Blogging Journey
…if I may be so bold as to offer those.
How to Write a Successful Job Description for a Developer Role
I got a surprising amount of positive feedback on a job description I wrote recently, both internally and from candidates. So, I figured I’d write up my proc...
azure functions
Tutorial: An Automated reading list with Feedly and Azure Functions
I’ve been a fan of RSS feeds for a long time. I love curating a collection of knowledge that streams to me at my pace, and I consider feeds to be a fundament...
apis
Tutorial: An Automated reading list with Feedly and Azure Functions
I’ve been a fan of RSS feeds for a long time. I love curating a collection of knowledge that streams to me at my pace, and I consider feeds to be a fundament...
cloud
Tutorial: An Automated reading list with Feedly and Azure Functions
I’ve been a fan of RSS feeds for a long time. I love curating a collection of knowledge that streams to me at my pace, and I consider feeds to be a fundament...
key vault
Tutorial: An Automated reading list with Feedly and Azure Functions
I’ve been a fan of RSS feeds for a long time. I love curating a collection of knowledge that streams to me at my pace, and I consider feeds to be a fundament...
Community
I’m Running for the .NET Foundation’s Board of Directors!
I’m excited to announce my candidacy for the .NET Foundation’s Board of Directors!
Leadership
I’m Running for the .NET Foundation’s Board of Directors!
I’m excited to announce my candidacy for the .NET Foundation’s Board of Directors!
Azure
Adding public CI/CD to a Node project with Azure Pipelines
I recently created ’unanet-summarizer’, a small utility to give my colleagues some additional summary information on their time sheets. It got a little more ...
DevOps
Adding public CI/CD to a Node project with Azure Pipelines
I recently created ’unanet-summarizer’, a small utility to give my colleagues some additional summary information on their time sheets. It got a little more ...
Pipelines
Adding public CI/CD to a Node project with Azure Pipelines
I recently created ’unanet-summarizer’, a small utility to give my colleagues some additional summary information on their time sheets. It got a little more ...
Node
Adding public CI/CD to a Node project with Azure Pipelines
I recently created ’unanet-summarizer’, a small utility to give my colleagues some additional summary information on their time sheets. It got a little more ...
CI
Adding public CI/CD to a Node project with Azure Pipelines
I recently created ’unanet-summarizer’, a small utility to give my colleagues some additional summary information on their time sheets. It got a little more ...
CD
Adding public CI/CD to a Node project with Azure Pipelines
I recently created ’unanet-summarizer’, a small utility to give my colleagues some additional summary information on their time sheets. It got a little more ...
Productivity
How I Combine my Work (Outlook) and Personal (Google) Calendars
This came up in a conversation and I realized my methods might be helpful for someone. I figured I can write it up with step-by-steps here.
Outlook
How I Combine my Work (Outlook) and Personal (Google) Calendars
This came up in a conversation and I realized my methods might be helpful for someone. I figured I can write it up with step-by-steps here.
How I Combine my Work (Outlook) and Personal (Google) Calendars
This came up in a conversation and I realized my methods might be helpful for someone. I figured I can write it up with step-by-steps here.
Calendar
How I Combine my Work (Outlook) and Personal (Google) Calendars
This came up in a conversation and I realized my methods might be helpful for someone. I figured I can write it up with step-by-steps here.
jobs
Software/Solution Architects: The Sommeliers of the IT World
I recently had a colleague ask me about how to describe the difference between an great software architect and a mediocre one, or how to deal with “ivory tow...
careers
Software/Solution Architects: The Sommeliers of the IT World
I recently had a colleague ask me about how to describe the difference between an great software architect and a mediocre one, or how to deal with “ivory tow...
metaphors
Software/Solution Architects: The Sommeliers of the IT World
I recently had a colleague ask me about how to describe the difference between an great software architect and a mediocre one, or how to deal with “ivory tow...
burnout
What I Learned From Taking a Two-Week Vacation for my Honeymoon
My wife and I recently took our honeymoon a year and a half after we got married. It was the longest vacation I’ve ever taken, and probably the first one I c...
health
What I Learned From Taking a Two-Week Vacation for my Honeymoon
My wife and I recently took our honeymoon a year and a half after we got married. It was the longest vacation I’ve ever taken, and probably the first one I c...
agile-survival-guide
Agile Survival Guide: Retrospective Safety
I’m considering a series called “Agile Survival Guide”, designed to muse on / attempt to tackle some common things I’ve seen happen on projects that are atte...
retrospectives
Agile Survival Guide: Retrospective Safety
I’m considering a series called “Agile Survival Guide”, designed to muse on / attempt to tackle some common things I’ve seen happen on projects that are atte...
safety
Agile Survival Guide: Retrospective Safety
I’m considering a series called “Agile Survival Guide”, designed to muse on / attempt to tackle some common things I’ve seen happen on projects that are atte...
dependency management
Automagically Update Your Package Dependencies With Dependabot – For Free!
With the news that Dependabot has been acquired by GitHub, I thought it was a good time to explain what a phenomenal help I find this tool to be, and how you...
bots
Automagically Update Your Package Dependencies With Dependabot – For Free!
With the news that Dependabot has been acquired by GitHub, I thought it was a good time to explain what a phenomenal help I find this tool to be, and how you...
blueprints
Adventures in Azure Architecture: A Home Desktop Setup
I recently connected with someone on Twitter who had some questions about architecture for a personal setup in the cloud. I thought the challenge was interes...
proofing
How to: Check your Jekyll-based blog for dead links
I thought someone might find this quick tip useful, so I’m writing it up.
chromedriver
Quick tip: NTLM / Windows pass-through authentication with Selenium and ChromeDriver
Challenge I was on a project for a web application that used Windows Active Directory authentication for internal users. We had some automated acceptance t...
selenium
Quick tip: NTLM / Windows pass-through authentication with Selenium and ChromeDriver
Challenge I was on a project for a web application that used Windows Active Directory authentication for internal users. We had some automated acceptance t...
registry
Quick tip: NTLM / Windows pass-through authentication with Selenium and ChromeDriver
Challenge I was on a project for a web application that used Windows Active Directory authentication for internal users. We had some automated acceptance t...
ntlm
Quick tip: NTLM / Windows pass-through authentication with Selenium and ChromeDriver
Challenge I was on a project for a web application that used Windows Active Directory authentication for internal users. We had some automated acceptance t...
rfps
Help Me Help You: How your RFPs are setting you up for failure before you begin
Are you someone who has a hand in crafting Requests for Proposals (RFPs) for your company? This article is for you, and is based off of some things I’ve seen...
consulting
Help Me Help You: How your RFPs are setting you up for failure before you begin
Are you someone who has a hand in crafting Requests for Proposals (RFPs) for your company? This article is for you, and is based off of some things I’ve seen...
contracts
Help Me Help You: How your RFPs are setting you up for failure before you begin
Are you someone who has a hand in crafting Requests for Proposals (RFPs) for your company? This article is for you, and is based off of some things I’ve seen...
serverless
How to: Deploy GitHub Pages on a Schedule to Publish Future Posts
I have a Jekyll-based blog that is deployed via GitHub Pages. Because Jekyll is a static site generator, you can’t release future posts unless you trigger a ...
octopusdeploy
How to: Call a TeamCity build from OctopusDeploy
We have an OctopusDeploy deployment that deploys our code to an automated acceptance test environment. And we have a TeamCity build that executes our automat...
jasmine
How to: Show Jasmine test results in TeamCity
A colleague wanted to surface their jasmine tests in a TeamCity build system. Wanted to document the steps I used to help them solve their problem. Setting ...
tests runners
How to: Show Jasmine test results in TeamCity
A colleague wanted to surface their jasmine tests in a TeamCity build system. Wanted to document the steps I used to help them solve their problem. Setting ...
infrastructure
Avoid the Blue/Green Deployment Blues: Watch out for these 10 Pitfalls
I’ve seen organizations make some …interesting decisions around the concept of “blue/green deployments.” In some cases, these changes can lead to some pretty...
blue green
Avoid the Blue/Green Deployment Blues: Watch out for these 10 Pitfalls
I’ve seen organizations make some …interesting decisions around the concept of “blue/green deployments.” In some cases, these changes can lead to some pretty...
windows
Jekyll Two Ways on Windows: Installing & building Jekyll / GitHub Pages blogs with Ruby on Windows 10
I wanted to write up these steps as I took the time to get my blog up and running on my new laptop, in case it helps someone else get started. Today, we’ll ...
setup
How to: Set up a new Windows laptop quickly (with some prep and tooling beforehand)
I recently got a new laptop (which is incredible! and which I’ll do another post on shortly.) Shout-out to my employer, Excella, who picks up 80% of the cost...
machine setup
How to: Set up a new Windows laptop quickly (with some prep and tooling beforehand)
I recently got a new laptop (which is incredible! and which I’ll do another post on shortly.) Shout-out to my employer, Excella, who picks up 80% of the cost...
PowerShell
How to: Create a PowerShell alias with parameters
I was recently asked how to create a PowerShell command alias that accepts parameters.
aliases
How to: Create a PowerShell alias with parameters
I was recently asked how to create a PowerShell command alias that accepts parameters.
Peripherals
Fix: Logitech Touchpad T650 not Working on Windows 10
Logitech is probably my favorite peripheral maker of all time. Recently I remembered that I had a T650 touchpad that I hadn’t used in a long time and I decid...
Logitech
Fix: Logitech Touchpad T650 not Working on Windows 10
Logitech is probably my favorite peripheral maker of all time. Recently I remembered that I had a T650 touchpad that I hadn’t used in a long time and I decid...
T650
Fix: Logitech Touchpad T650 not Working on Windows 10
Logitech is probably my favorite peripheral maker of all time. Recently I remembered that I had a T650 touchpad that I hadn’t used in a long time and I decid...
Windows 10
Fix: Logitech Touchpad T650 not Working on Windows 10
Logitech is probably my favorite peripheral maker of all time. Recently I remembered that I had a T650 touchpad that I hadn’t used in a long time and I decid...
azure key vault
How to: Use AzureSignTool to sign files with Azure DevOps using a certificate in Azure Key Vault
Automated code signing for fun and (hopefully someday) profit.
build process
How to: Use AzureSignTool to sign files with Azure DevOps using a certificate in Azure Key Vault
Automated code signing for fun and (hopefully someday) profit.
digital signatures
How to: Use AzureSignTool to sign files with Azure DevOps using a certificate in Azure Key Vault
Automated code signing for fun and (hopefully someday) profit.
signing.
How to: Use AzureSignTool to sign files with Azure DevOps using a certificate in Azure Key Vault
Automated code signing for fun and (hopefully someday) profit.
twitch
Announcement: Now on Twitch!
I’ve been starting to stream on Twitch.
announcement
Announcement: Now on Twitch!
I’ve been starting to stream on Twitch.
streaming
Announcement: Now on Twitch!
I’ve been starting to stream on Twitch.
dotnet foundation
Thoughts on the .NET Foundation’s Revised Election Process
Updated: This post has some updates to include responses from Claire, which were helpful and clarifying in several instances below.
.net foundation
Thoughts on the .NET Foundation’s Revised Election Process
Updated: This post has some updates to include responses from Claire, which were helpful and clarifying in several instances below.
election
Thoughts on the .NET Foundation’s Revised Election Process
Updated: This post has some updates to include responses from Claire, which were helpful and clarifying in several instances below.
branches
How to rename your default branch away from master while using GitHub pages
There’s been some discussion lately about the term master for a branch as insensitive and a term that can make others feel uncomfortable and rise to the leve...
renaming
How to rename your default branch away from master while using GitHub pages
There’s been some discussion lately about the term master for a branch as insensitive and a term that can make others feel uncomfortable and rise to the leve...
netlify
How to rename your default branch away from master while using GitHub pages
There’s been some discussion lately about the term master for a branch as insensitive and a term that can make others feel uncomfortable and rise to the leve...
dotnetcore
Solved: .NET Core Azure AD in Docker Container Incorrectly Uses a non-https redirect URI
I’ve hit this problem several times and only recently figured it out.
azuread
Solved: .NET Core Azure AD in Docker Container Incorrectly Uses a non-https redirect URI
I’ve hit this problem several times and only recently figured it out.
https
Solved: .NET Core Azure AD in Docker Container Incorrectly Uses a non-https redirect URI
I’ve hit this problem several times and only recently figured it out.
ad
How to: Move Azure Resources into another Azure AD
I recently completed some work for a client. The work had been done within my company’s Azure org, but I wanted to ensure the client had full control of thei...
subscriptions
How to: Move Azure Resources into another Azure AD
I recently completed some work for a client. The work had been done within my company’s Azure org, but I wanted to ensure the client had full control of thei...
resources
How to: Move Azure Resources into another Azure AD
I recently completed some work for a client. The work had been done within my company’s Azure org, but I wanted to ensure the client had full control of thei...
blazor
Solved: Blazor IdentityServer 500.30 Error (ANCM Issue)
Ran into this this issue while hacking on a problem with my Dad, Jim Killeen. (Side note: looking at tech stuff with my Dad remains one of my great joys in l...
ssl
Solved: Blazor IdentityServer 500.30 Error (ANCM Issue)
Ran into this this issue while hacking on a problem with my Dad, Jim Killeen. (Side note: looking at tech stuff with my Dad remains one of my great joys in l...
identityserver
Solved: Blazor IdentityServer 500.30 Error (ANCM Issue)
Ran into this this issue while hacking on a problem with my Dad, Jim Killeen. (Side note: looking at tech stuff with my Dad remains one of my great joys in l...
microsoft mvp
From the AMA: “How did you become a Microsoft MVP?”
I run an ongoing AMA (ask me anything) on GitHub where folks can drop questions. Give it a try! Occasionally I’ll post topics here that I think a wider audie...
wsl2
Building my Jekyll blog with Ubuntu on WSL2
The steps weren’t entirely obvious to me so I thought I’d write about it here for others who are newer to that ecosystem.
ubuntu
Building my Jekyll blog with Ubuntu on WSL2
The steps weren’t entirely obvious to me so I thought I’d write about it here for others who are newer to that ecosystem.
web scraping
Random Thoughts: Considerations Around Web Scraping
It’s risky, and you need to know what you’re doing.
ethics
Random Thoughts: Considerations Around Web Scraping
It’s risky, and you need to know what you’re doing.
good practices
Random Thoughts: Considerations Around Web Scraping
It’s risky, and you need to know what you’re doing.
opinions
Random Thoughts: Considerations Around Web Scraping
It’s risky, and you need to know what you’re doing.
contributions
How to Contribute to OSS Projects When You’re Unfamiliar With Their Code
It can seem daunting, but there are some ways in.
getting started
How to Contribute to OSS Projects When You’re Unfamiliar With Their Code
It can seem daunting, but there are some ways in.
powershell core
Getting Started With PowerShell Core in Windows Terminal
I believe in scripting and automation, and I have come to love PowerShell for its eloquence, especially in a Windows environment.
libraries
Cool things I learned about NUnit while re-launching the docs
While porting the NUnit docs to a new, modern web site I had a great opportunity – to actually read a ton of the docs!
windows 10
Quick Tip: A Keyboard Shortcut to Start a Taskbar App as an Administrator
I can’t believe I hadn’t come across this yet! Posting in case you can benefit from it, too.
keyboard shortcut
Quick Tip: A Keyboard Shortcut to Start a Taskbar App as an Administrator
I can’t believe I hadn’t come across this yet! Posting in case you can benefit from it, too.
coaching
Using Calendly to Run Remote Coaching Sessions
A little while back, as part of a client assignment, I ran some remote one-on-one DevOps coaching sessions for a group of about 30 people. This was newer ter...
remote work
Using Calendly to Run Remote Coaching Sessions
A little while back, as part of a client assignment, I ran some remote one-on-one DevOps coaching sessions for a group of about 30 people. This was newer ter...
scheduling
Using Calendly to Run Remote Coaching Sessions
A little while back, as part of a client assignment, I ran some remote one-on-one DevOps coaching sessions for a group of about 30 people. This was newer ter...
calendars
Using Calendly to Run Remote Coaching Sessions
A little while back, as part of a client assignment, I ran some remote one-on-one DevOps coaching sessions for a group of about 30 people. This was newer ter...
calendly
Using Calendly to Run Remote Coaching Sessions
A little while back, as part of a client assignment, I ran some remote one-on-one DevOps coaching sessions for a group of about 30 people. This was newer ter...
chromecast
Solved: Chromecast “Source not Supported” Error When Attempting to Cast
A Chrome flag does the trick.
settings
Solved: Chromecast “Source not Supported” Error When Attempting to Cast
A Chrome flag does the trick.
error
Solved: Chromecast “Source not Supported” Error When Attempting to Cast
A Chrome flag does the trick.
builder pattern
Utilizing Bogus with the Builder Pattern for better Mocks
I was recently working with the excellent Octokit.NET library for working with GitHub, and like many developers, I needed to write a test.
automated tests
Utilizing Bogus with the Builder Pattern for better Mocks
I was recently working with the excellent Octokit.NET library for working with GitHub, and like many developers, I needed to write a test.
bogus
Utilizing Bogus with the Builder Pattern for better Mocks
I was recently working with the excellent Octokit.NET library for working with GitHub, and like many developers, I needed to write a test.
fake data
Utilizing Bogus with the Builder Pattern for better Mocks
I was recently working with the excellent Octokit.NET library for working with GitHub, and like many developers, I needed to write a test.
music
How to Clean up a Messed up MP3 Library With Metatogger
Metatogger is my favorite .NET app of the week after it helped me recover my Mother-in-Law’s MP3 collection. I figured I’d talk a little bit about how I used...
mp3
How to Clean up a Messed up MP3 Library With Metatogger
Metatogger is my favorite .NET app of the week after it helped me recover my Mother-in-Law’s MP3 collection. I figured I’d talk a little bit about how I used...
linting
Adding Markdown Linting to my Blog’s Build Process with GitHub Actions and markdownlint
I’ll confess, reader. My markdown formatting was messy. I don’t like messy, so I decided to fix it and automate it.
git
How to Force git to Prompt You For a Password
A fun git challenge! I had to make a request against a remote repository in git. The only issue is that only a shared GitHub account had access, not my own a...
passwords
How to Force git to Prompt You For a Password
A fun git challenge! I had to make a request against a remote repository in git. The only issue is that only a shared GitHub account had access, not my own a...
.net 5
Solved: .NET 5 “SEC_ERROR_INADEQUATE_KEY_USAGE” in Firefox
Ran across an issue I had to fix where a .NET 5 application, which happened to be running in a Docker container (this ended up being irrelevant), couldn’t st...
firefox
Solved: .NET 5 “SEC_ERROR_INADEQUATE_KEY_USAGE” in Firefox
Ran across an issue I had to fix where a .NET 5 application, which happened to be running in a Docker container (this ended up being irrelevant), couldn’t st...
launch
Announcement: Introducing FlavorsOf.NET!
I’d received more than a few questions about the naming and differences between .NET Framework, .NET Core, .NET 5, Mono, Xamarin, etc.
CI/CD
How To Automate AWS CloudFront Distribution Folder Changes When Deploying a Static Web Site
I was working on a project that deployed its UI, an Angular site, to an S3 bucket that was then placed behind CloudFront.
deployment
How To Automate AWS CloudFront Distribution Folder Changes When Deploying a Static Web Site
I was working on a project that deployed its UI, an Angular site, to an S3 bucket that was then placed behind CloudFront.
aws
How To Automate AWS CloudFront Distribution Folder Changes When Deploying a Static Web Site
I was working on a project that deployed its UI, an Angular site, to an S3 bucket that was then placed behind CloudFront.
cloudfront
How To Automate AWS CloudFront Distribution Folder Changes When Deploying a Static Web Site
I was working on a project that deployed its UI, an Angular site, to an S3 bucket that was then placed behind CloudFront.
s3
How To Automate AWS CloudFront Distribution Folder Changes When Deploying a Static Web Site
I was working on a project that deployed its UI, an Angular site, to an S3 bucket that was then placed behind CloudFront.
azure-ad
How To: Use Azure AD Powershell to Work With Extension Properties (User Attributes)
Recently I worked on a project that involved working with Azure Active Directory B2C. As part of the Azure AD set up, we had created some extension propertie...
azure-ad-b2c
How To: Use Azure AD Powershell to Work With Extension Properties (User Attributes)
Recently I worked on a project that involved working with Azure Active Directory B2C. As part of the Azure AD set up, we had created some extension propertie...
codespaces
How to Use GitHub Codespaces With Your docfx Project
A little over a year ago, we re-launched the NUnit docs site using the docfx project. Since then, we’ve built out the workflow a bit – adding spell-checking,...
google drive
How to Use a Macro to Shorten Link Text in Google Sheets
Google Sheets is a phenomenal tool for group collaboration, but occasionally I wish it could do a little bit more. Recently, I had 400+ links with their ful...
macro
How to Use a Macro to Shorten Link Text in Google Sheets
Google Sheets is a phenomenal tool for group collaboration, but occasionally I wish it could do a little bit more. Recently, I had 400+ links with their ful...
scripts
How to Keep a VM / Desktop “awake”
A little AutoHotkey goes a long way.
autohotkey
How to Keep a VM / Desktop “awake”
A little AutoHotkey goes a long way.
artoo
Extracting VA Townhall Comments on Youngkin’s Reversed School Protections for Transgender Students
Analyzing Reactions, and providing a little of my own.
javascript
Extracting VA Townhall Comments on Youngkin’s Reversed School Protections for Transgender Students
Analyzing Reactions, and providing a little of my own.
sqlserver
Extracting VA Townhall Comments on Youngkin’s Reversed School Protections for Transgender Students
Analyzing Reactions, and providing a little of my own.
sql
Extracting VA Townhall Comments on Youngkin’s Reversed School Protections for Transgender Students
Analyzing Reactions, and providing a little of my own.
vscode
Extracting VA Townhall Comments on Youngkin’s Reversed School Protections for Transgender Students
Analyzing Reactions, and providing a little of my own.
hacktoberfest
My #hacktoberfest Theme: Adding Spellcheck to Docs. Join Me!
Systematizing OSS contributions, and steps for you to jump in.
terraform
Introducing TF WhatsUp, a Tool for Better Terraform Notes
Scratching a development itch to make Terraform provider upgrades easier.
dotnet7
Introducing TF WhatsUp, a Tool for Better Terraform Notes
Scratching a development itch to make Terraform provider upgrades easier.
globaltool
Introducing TF WhatsUp, a Tool for Better Terraform Notes
Scratching a development itch to make Terraform provider upgrades easier.
nuget
Introducing TF WhatsUp, a Tool for Better Terraform Notes
Scratching a development itch to make Terraform provider upgrades easier.
github-actions
How To Specify Pairs of Items in GitHub Actions Matrix Strategies
Came across this and wasn’t aware of it (though it makes total sense in retrospect), so I figured I’d pass the tip along.
cicd
How To Specify Pairs of Items in GitHub Actions Matrix Strategies
Came across this and wasn’t aware of it (though it makes total sense in retrospect), so I figured I’d pass the tip along.
sustainability
On Moq and our Part in the OSS Sustainability Social Contract
Let they who are without OSS sin cast the first stone. Let’s look inward on OSS sustainability issues.
open-source
On Moq and our Part in the OSS Sustainability Social Contract
Let they who are without OSS sin cast the first stone. Let’s look inward on OSS sustainability issues.
review
My Process for Reviewing Pull Requests
I often do a lot of code reviews and pull request reviews. As a follow-up to my article on submitting pull requests, I wanted to talk about how I review them...
work
My Next Adventure: Joining SCT Software as VP of Innovation & Products!
I’m very happy to announce that starting today, I’m joining SCT Software as VP of Innovation & Products! 
milestones
My Next Adventure: Joining SCT Software as VP of Innovation & Products!
I’m very happy to announce that starting today, I’m joining SCT Software as VP of Innovation & Products!
lets-do-this
My Next Adventure: Joining SCT Software as VP of Innovation & Products!
I’m very happy to announce that starting today, I’m joining SCT Software as VP of Innovation & Products!
trello
How I Use Trello as a “Continuous Travel Packing List”
We recently got back from a big trip, and that reminded me I’ve been meaning to publish a tip on how Trello has saved me a lot of time and hassle around trav...
vacations
How I Use Trello as a “Continuous Travel Packing List”
We recently got back from a big trip, and that reminded me I’ve been meaning to publish a tip on how Trello has saved me a lot of time and hassle around trav...
mindset
The Power of Thinking About “The Thing After the Thing”
I’ve long been a fan of The Phoenix Project, and grateful for the ways its introduced so many to DevOps culture and practices. One of my favorite personal “a...
recruiting
How I Created an Automated (and Humane!) Hiring Process Using Jira
My employer, SCT Software, is a small company of around 50 people. We needed to hire 2 developers, and we wanted to do it all in-house. Beyond the economics ...
Jira
How I Created an Automated (and Humane!) Hiring Process Using Jira
My employer, SCT Software, is a small company of around 50 people. We needed to hire 2 developers, and we wanted to do it all in-house. Beyond the economics ...
resume
Tips to Help Yourself Stand Out During a Tech Job Search
I recently just powered through a bunch of applications for some roles I had open. As a hiring manager, I want to mention some simple things that can set you...
reflection
A Reflection: 6 Months in my New Position
Taking stock.
goodstuff
A Reflection: 6 Months in my New Position
Taking stock.
facilitation
Shrink Your Meeting “Feedback Loops”
How I committed to making meetings better.
blogging
Tips for Getting Un-Stuck on a Blogging Journey
…if I may be so bold as to offer those.
azuredevops
Beautiful .NET Test Reports Using GitHub Actions
I know some folks who would like to move to GitHub Actions from Azure DevOps, but would really miss the “Test View” that Azure DevOps provides. Let’s see if ...
azdo
Beautiful .NET Test Reports Using GitHub Actions
I know some folks who would like to move to GitHub Actions from Azure DevOps, but would really miss the “Test View” that Azure DevOps provides. Let’s see if ...
tdd
How To: Test Logging when Using Microsoft.Extensions.Logging and Serilog
There are a lot of different ways to test logging, and quite a few opinions about how to do so. I recently found what feels like a very pleasant approach for...
serilog
How To: Test Logging when Using Microsoft.Extensions.Logging and Serilog
There are a lot of different ways to test logging, and quite a few opinions about how to do so. I recently found what feels like a very pleasant approach for...
JetBrains
How to Run Docker-based .NET apps in JetBrains Rider Without “Fast Mode”
In most cases, containerized .NET apps run just fine “out of the box”. IDEs such as Visual Studio and JetBrains Rider provide a helpful experience called “Fa...
rider
How to Run Docker-based .NET apps in JetBrains Rider Without “Fast Mode”
In most cases, containerized .NET apps run just fine “out of the box”. IDEs such as Visual Studio and JetBrains Rider provide a helpful experience called “Fa...
IDEs
How to Run Docker-based .NET apps in JetBrains Rider Without “Fast Mode”
In most cases, containerized .NET apps run just fine “out of the box”. IDEs such as Visual Studio and JetBrains Rider provide a helpful experience called “Fa...
recognition
ICMYI: Featured on Microsoft Learn Contributor Stories!
Microsoft was kind enough to feature me in a Microsoft Learn Contributor Story!
Communication
Communication Tip: The Power of Named Chats
In many organizations, natural communication pathways start to form. Something happens or information needs to be sent out or a decision needs to be made, an...
messaging
Communication Tip: The Power of Named Chats
In many organizations, natural communication pathways start to form. Something happens or information needs to be sent out or a decision needs to be made, an...
chat
Communication Tip: The Power of Named Chats
In many organizations, natural communication pathways start to form. Something happens or information needs to be sent out or a decision needs to be made, an...
social-contract
On Moq and our Part in the OSS Sustainability Social Contract
11 minute read
Let they who are without OSS sin cast the first stone. Let’s look inward on OSS sustainability issues.