Paul Grenyer

.Net Core in Action by Dustin Metzgar ISBN-13: 978-1617294273 I still get a fair amount of flack for buying and reading technical books in the 21st Century - almost as much as I get for still buying and listening to CDs. If I was a vinyl loving hipster, it would be different of course…. However, books like .Net Core in Action are a perfect example of why I do it.  I needed to learn what .Net Core was and get a feel for it very quickly and that is what this book allowed me to do. I’ve been very sceptical of .Net development for a number of years, mostly due to how large I perceived the total cost of ownership and the startup cost to be and the fact that you have to use Windows.  While this was previously true, .Net Core is different and .Net Core in Action made me understand that within the first few pages of the first chapter. It also got me over my prejudice towards Docker by the end of the second chapter. The first two chapters are as you would expect, an introduct...

I was honoured and delighted to be asked to judge and present the overall DevelopHER award once again this year. Everyone says choosing a winner is difficult. It may be a cliche, but that doesn’t change the fact that it is. When the 13 category winners came across my desk I read through them all and reluctantly got it down to seven. Usually on a first pass I like to have it down to three or four and then all I need to agonise over is the order. Luckily on the second pass I was able to be ruthless and get it down to four. To make it even more difficult, three of my four fell into three categories I am passionate about: Technical excellence and diversity Automated Testing Practical, visual Agile And the fourth achieved results for her organisation which just couldn’t be ignored. So I read and reread and ordered and re-ordered. Made more tea, changed the CD and re-read and re-ordered some more. Eventually it became clear. Technical excellent and the ability for a softwa...

I was very surprised and excited and then immediately disappointed to see Shakespere Sister on the Graham Norton show. They performed Stay , which is their big hit (longest single at number in the UK be a female artist, 8 weeks), but Marcella wasn’t even trying to hit the high notes and it was awful. We decided to go and see them on tour anyway as it was potentially a once in a lifetime experience before they fell out again. The Ipswich Regent was half empty in the stalls and the circle was closed and oddly there were quite a few security guards - apparently at the request of the band. Encouragingly Shakespear Sister came on on time and they sounded good! As they ploughed through many of their well known songs, new songs and a few older more obscure songs, the vocals were strong from both Marcella and Siobhan. The rhythm section was incredible.  The drumming was tight, varied and interesting, but what really stood out was the bass. I think part of this was that the player ha...