Documenting the installation process for Netlify CLI in Ubuntu 18.04 on WSL 2 in Windows 10 build 2004, in order to develop with Hugo locally, using the same tools we’ll use in production.
[Read More]Getting started with audio on Windows
Experimenting with Zoom H5 and Reaper
I recently purchased a Zoom H5 handy recorder. Here are some notes I made in getting it to work well on Windows
[Read More]Studying and passing the Oracle Cloud Infrastructure Foundations 2020 exam
A few pointers on my first Oracle Cloud certification
At any given point, I’m usually studying for a technical certification (or re-certification). I had some AWS certifications due for renewal in April 2020, but given the current COVID-19 lockdown, AWS kindly added 6 months to their validity, which meant the time pressure was off.
I’ve been working with Azure more and more over the past couple of years, so I had switched gears to studying for the AZ-300: Microsoft Azure Architect Technologies exam before it changes on 2 June 2020 and is retired later in the year. Although I’ve worked with Azure on a daily basis for several years, when preparing for a certification I like the reassurance of following a structured course.
Scott Duffy’s AZ-300 Azure Architecture Technologies Exam Prep 2020 course on Udemy is good, and he keeps it updated (I think I purchased it in late 2016 for the precursor of the exam, the 70-534). In an early video, “What’s So Great About Cloud Computing?”, he quotes the RightScale 2019 State of the Cloud Report. His emphasis is that Azure is a close second behind AWS. However, at number 6 of 7 in the list of “currently used by enterprises”, we see:
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- Oracle Cloud - 16% (up 6%)
Book recommendations
I recently recommended a few books to a colleague who wanted something to read during the Coronavirus lockdown. Here were my choices:
[Read More]Cloning Git repositories with Git accounts on the same Windows computer
From the same Visual Studio Code on Windows, I want to be able to work with repositories from
This would more generally apply to any two accounts (Bitbucket, GitLab etc.)
[Read More]A Hugo static site on Netlify
A Hugo static site on Netlify
Introduction Download hugo-extended Find a theme hugo new site git sub module copy config.toml, and adjust settings. Commit Make Netlify aware We have these folders locally:
And yet on GitHub, a shorter list:
From burntfen, we read:
Wait, so why weren’t the other folders - archetypes, content, data, layouts, static - added? Well, they’re empty. Hugo likes empty folders. Git doesn’t. If you want to keep them, you’ll need to add a file into each of them.
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Experiments with Terraform 0.12
A shared central folder consumed by multiple environment folders A common pattern I’ve used in recent projects is to use a shared folder to contain the Terraform files which:
sets the provider (AzureRm) sets any tooling requirements (terraform.exe of at least a certain version) declares variables sets default values for variables at a global level uses the merge function for environment-specific variables creates resources (in this example, Azure Resource Groups) I combine this with separate folders per environment which contain:
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Cloud certifications
At any given point, I’m usually studying an online course - often for a certification for a cloud platform. Here are the ones I’m planning to take in 2020
[Read More]Preparing year-end accounts with FreeAgent
A brain dump of some steps for small business owners, preparing year-end accounts with FreeAgent.
This started as a few bullets points of notes to myself, jotted down when I was pulling together my company’s year-end accounts in the excellent online accounts package FreeAgent More recently, I’ve advised a friend as to what he needs, after parting company with an accountant.
[Read More]Experiments with static sites
Reviewing static site generators and choosing Hugo
I plan to write more fully on static sites, particularly covering:
- exporting from WordPress
- hosting with AWS S3, Azure Storage Accounts, and Netlify
- adding in Content Delivery Networks
- JAMStack sites like Gatsby
- a CI/CD workflow
- speed comparisons
Here’s my current journey:
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