When it comes to REST endpoints, I have been amazed at the conflicting and bad practices employed for response codes.  Specifically the use of the response codes: 404 (page not found) 204 (content not found) 400 (Bad Request) The HTTP response codes are a very rich and detailed set of answers. But there is a […]

“The real danger is not that machines will begin to think like men, but that men will begin to think like machines. ” — Sydney J. Harris (former journalist for the Chicago Daily News) I recently watched a YouTube video about an incident which came close to starting a nuclear war, and it reminded me […]

In 2015, there was a picture taken of Putin listening to Obama give a speech.  When the photo was zoomed, it was clear that notes he was writing during the speech were just scribbles.  It made its way around the internet and, this being an election year, it’s making a comeback on Facebook in 2020. […]

Keep It Simple and Stupid! If you hate those extremely over-complicated password requirements which paranoid corporations are embracing, you will love the changes that NIST issued about a year ago.  The problem is, corporations aren’t really showing any interest in it. It is time to point them the the new guidelines, because the current ones […]

<rant> I don’t know if it comes from laziness in changing a default name from a template, or a misunderstanding of the attributes HttpGet, HttpPut, HttpPost, HttpDelete or HttpHead.  Regardless, having a WebAPI method name in code called Get() for a single method with an HttpGet attribute, Put() for HttpPut, etc… is bad practice. Use […]

NUnit and Microsoft Unit Tests use an approach of attributes on a method to identify a test which is expected to throw an exception, to differentiate tests which are expected to not throw an exception and just report success or failure based on Assertions (AreEqual, IsFalse, IsTrue, etc).  For individual tests, this approach is very effective. […]

Before I moved to Florida from Maryland in 2005, I had an E-ZPass in Maryland which we used for the Bay Bridge toll payments.  We got it in about 2000, and it was wonderful.  It was a time when electronic toll systems were just getting started in the US.  The big benefit was bypassing the […]

As a lot of people have done or are doing, I moved my finance tracking off the old (read: previously) reliable Quicken desktop application, to a provider on the web.  I love the convenience of having quick access on all devices I use and wherever I am. But there are still things I will not […]

I recently moved and had to setup a new home network. Because of the length and number of walls limiting effective radio coverage in the new house, I opted to put in two wireless AP’s: one at the front in the living room where the main input is, and one at the back of the house […]

I have been a software developer for over 30 years now.  That includes time as a kid playing with technology, time as a student, and professional and non-professional work.  Over that time I have encountered a lot of bad designs, and some good designs in systems and software.  I also have, like every person in […]