When I set this blog up over a year ago, I had all good intentions of posting more frequently. Alas, for over 12 months I haven’t posted anything more. I really must try harder!

My other websites are all still running on Wordpress, and I would really like to migrate them over to static sites. Why? Primarily due to the huge bloat that exists in Wordpress these days.

Originally I was intending to do this with Jekyll, but before I started I went for a look at StaticGen to compare the static site generator (SSG) options available. Hugo is much faster at building sites (sub 1 second), and gets frequent updates. Hugo is also written in Go, a language that I started to use more towards the end of last year and was keen to spend more time with.

Starling Bank is one of a new breed of mobile ‘challenger’ banks in the UK, with a focus on a new way to manage your money, real-time banking & security.

Yesterday Starling announced that it is Introducing 3D Secure:

Today, we’ll start a phased rollout of 3D Secure, an authentication tool for online purchases, to our customers. We explain how this will help keep customers’ money safe.

3D Secure is a tool for online transactions that requires the account holder to complete an authentication process for some purchases. It forms part of the security of your account.

It was great to see my friend Dave yesterday to catch up on our Jet Hydroplane UK project and see how the build of Longbow was progressing.

Jet Hydroplane UK is a British Team, with a serving British Military pilot at the helm, and a joint passion to build and run Longbow, a jet hydroplane, on lakes and lochs within the UK.

I’m thrilled to have been involved in this project since its start in 2016, and really pleased with how the build is now starting to take shape.

Looking forward to sharing the latest pictures in the next update later in the month!

Meanwhile, you can look at the project here.

Earlier this month Microsoft announced that they are ending support for Microsoft Band and Microsoft Health Dashboard on 31st May 2019.

Microsoft has announced the end of support for the Microsoft Health Dashboard applications and services. This document contains important dates and information regarding the end of support.

On 5/31/2019, the Microsoft Health Dashboard site will be shut down and Microsoft Band applications will be removed from the Microsoft Store, Google Play, and Apple App store. 

The good news for those with Microsoft Band devices is that eligible users can claim a refund.

One of my hobbies that I enjoy when I am not writing code is flying multirotors, otherwise known as drones.

I currently fly both a hexacopter, DJI F550, and a quadcopter, DJI Mavic Air.

I have collected quite a bit of footage over the past few years, and recently decided to make a start editing some of it; another hobby perhaps?!

Here is the latest video, with footage originally captured in September 2018 during a flight over Kentmere in Cumbria, UK.

Kentmere rainbow. September 2018