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Software Development Blog Post Ideas

14 September, 2019.

Everybody seems to be blogging these days, and that is fantastic for the wider software development community. One of the hardest aspects of blogging, however, is inspiration. There are so many topics, making a decision is hard. Inspiration lacks. Never fear, I have some ideas. JavaScript blog post ideas Create a progressive web app (PWA) with Google’s workbox. Talking points Write more scalable, robust JavaScript applications with TypeScript. A beginners guide to Puppeteer from Google. Talking…

How to become a full-stack web developer

17 May, 2019.

Training to become a full-stack developer is becoming harder every year. Since the rapid rise in popularity of open source, especially over the past 5 years, the pace of advancement of the industry has accelerated exponentially, and I doubt the rate of advancement will slow any time soon. To become a full-stack developer, continuous on-the-job learning, and self-development in general, is mandatory. With the disclaimer out of the way, you should know that with the right direction and drive, you…

How to hack your way to better mental and physical health

11 May, 2019.

From personal experience I have found that the more time and effort I dedicate to improving my mental and physical health, the better developer I have become. When you take proper care of yourself, your body, your mind, you level up in all areas of your life, especially at intellectual tasks that require deep thought and concentration (like writing code!). Over the past decade I have transformed how I work and how I live. I have overhauled almost every aspect of my life with the sole purpose of…

Should you exercise when starting the ketogenic diet?

14 April, 2019.

Exercise can have a profound impact on your body and the amount that you participate in each week can have a dramatic impact your emotional, mental and physical health. People who are overweight, or obese, consuming the standard western diet can have difficulty accessing stored energy (fat) and can find the experience tiring, stressful, emotionally draining, and unrewarding. Eating keto will result in lower blood sugar levels and decreased insulin resistance, resulting in better utilization of…

What is the role of fasting on the ketogenic diet?

11 April, 2019.

Fasting is a very efficient means of accelerating weight loss and boosting ketone levels. Fasting, meaning to refrain from eating food and only consuming water (sometimes referred to as water fasting) has been practiced by humans for millennia and was once a natural part of the human diet (and still is across large parts of the world). The ketogenic diet (keto) alters the body chemistry (lowers blood sugar levels and insulin resistance), which enables the body to start a process called…

What is the ketogenic diet?

11 April, 2019.

The modern human diet consists primarily of carbohydrate based foods (carbs) such as; potatoes, rice, fruits, grains, vegetables and dairy. In other words, over 60% of the calories we consume daily are in the form of simple sugars (glucose and fructose), starch and fibre (soluble and insoluble). The overconsumption of sugar has lead to a global obesity epidemic, which in turn has lead to a dramatic increase in serious chronic diseases like coronary heart disease, type 2 diabetes and bone and…

10 React.js interview questions (and possible answers)

10 April, 2019.

Interviewing for a developer role does not have to be a stressful experience. Interviewing can be fun. Interviewing can be an opportunity to geek out about the tools and technologies you use every day. More often than not, when you interview for a company you will be asked a broad range of questions about various aspects of software engineering, including, but not limited to, the following; Problem solving Algorithms and data structures Agile, Scrum, Kanban and other working practices Specific…

How to avoid burnout

19 November, 2015.

You work hard 7 days a week, and you do your best to stay up to date with the latest industry trends. Inevitably you will become demoralized and demotivated and eventually suffer a partial or full-on collapse where all your progress comes to a grinding halt. After a period of time (days, weeks or months!) you get back on track and pick up where you left off, eventually leading to the inevitable burnout cycle where you end up back where you were. I’ve been through this cycle several times, and I…

Devs, this is how I got fit

04 September, 2015.

Right now, I’m in pretty good shape. I have the confidence to say this because I’ve worked very hard over the last 18 months to get to this point. I’m not a muscular person, like what you might see in a designer underwear advert…and this was never my personal goal, but I certainly don’t feel embarrassed anymore when I take my shirt off. I’ve discovered a few very simple patterns for losing weight, gaining muscle (at a slow rate) and generally feeling better about myself. This has been such a big…

Why I don't want to be a front-end web developer

25 June, 2015.

The job title isn’t representative of my skill set As a front-end developer, you portray yourself as having a narrow set of skills. This probably isn’t the case. I did a quick search on a popular job forum for front-end developer jobs, and there is a clear recurring theme as to what skills are required to be a mid-level/senior front-end developer; (X)HTML (5), CSS, SASS/SCSS, LESS. Backbone, Angular, Knockout. Responsive web design (I’m assuming Bootstrap knowledge, Foundation etc). Adobe…

Every developer must be proficient at these 7 things...

21 February, 2015.

In 2015, it is as important as ever for developers of all levels of expertise and experience to re-train and update their skills. In the fast moving world of technology, failure to do so can result in career stagnation and ultimately not reaching your full earnings potential. This post is an update to the popular post 10 things every software developer should do in 2014. All of the points made in that post are still relevant and valid so I recommend you take a look. This post is entirely based…

Should I get certified?

28 July, 2014.

The value of Microsoft certifications has split opinion for years, and both camps feel very passionate about their side of the argument. In this post I’ll try and look constructively at the value of Microsoft certifications, so you can make the decision for yourself. I’m specifically talking about Microsoft developer certifications here, but the concepts/points could likely be applied to any certifying body. 1. What are the current Microsoft Certification paths (for developers)? There is a route…

How to pass Microsoft Exam 70-487 (Developing Microsoft Azure and Web Services) in 30 days

26 July, 2014.

Before you continue reading this blog post, you need to be aware of the following; This is not a “quick fix” or an “easy solution”. I have not discovered some secret formula to guarantee you pass with 100% marks every time. The exam is genuinely challenging and the only way you are going to pass is by working hard! You will not find any brain dumps here! If you’re afraid of working hard to achieve your goals, you best leave now … Still Here? Congratulations, you are taking your first steps…

My learning hangover

29 June, 2014.

Its virtually unheard of for me to write blog posts about anything that isn’t a language, framework, or technology but my experience recently has affected my life in so many ways it got me thinking…there must be lots of other people who have experienced this, or are heading towards it. It’s too important to not share with the community. I am of course talking about my learning hangover. Note that this is an honest and frank post, and that, to some extent, I am still experiencing a learning…

How to pass Microsoft Exam 70-486 (Developing ASP.NET MVC 4 Web Applications) in 30 days

01 February, 2014.

Before you continue reading this blog, you need to be aware of the following; This is not a “quick fix” or an “easy solution”. I have not discovered some secret formula to guarantee you pass with 100% marks every time. I am not trying to sell you anything. The exam is genuinely challenging and the only way you are going to pass is by working hard! You will not find any brain dumps here! If you’re afraid of working hard to achieve your goals, you best leave now … Still Here? Congratulations, you…

How to pass Microsoft Exam 70-480 (HTML 5, CSS3 and JavaScript) in 30 days

20 September, 2013.