Blogs

It’s time for this years Holiday. Normal service will resume later this month.

Running Linux and working in Cloud and HPC it is common for me to be stumped when problems appear. Indeed that is where the fun is. However, after receiving a link to download some photos from a recent even, I was shocked to see the images were in .heicformat.1 I have never heard of this and was shocked that something as simple as an image file could not be opened easily on my fancy, sleek, XPS-13....

Thoughts here are my own In the ever-evolving landscape of technology and artificial intelligence (AI), the decision by the new Labour government to shelve £1.3bn of funding promised by the previous Conservatives leadership for tech and AI projects will cast a long shadow over the future of AI, and scientific compute, innovation in the UK.1 This move, while framed as a necessary adjustment to restore economic stability, underscores a deeper, more systemic issue: the vulnerability of technological advancement to the whims of political change....

In the rapidly evolving landscape of technology, Artificial Intelligence (AI) has emerged as a transformative force, with the promise to reshaping industries and redefining the way businesses operate. As organisations increasingly integrate AI into their operations, a new challenge arises: managing the financial implications of these powerful technologies. This is where Financial Operations (FinOps) comes into play, offering a strategic framework to maximize business value from AI investments. AI’s potential to drive growth and innovation is undeniable....

` Introduction Having spent a significant part of the previous week talking about abstract Quantum Computing problems it was a joy to take a brake and focus on something more tangible. I was lucky enough to attended a weekend woodworking course hosted by Lula James - a Christmas gift I finally got a chance to redeem. It was a great introduction to woodworking with hand tools but also a challenge to my current, very digital, work....

In the realm of technology, quantum computing stands as a beacon of future possibilities, and potential horrors. Its development, still in nascent stages, promises to revolutionize our approach to solving complex problems that are currently beyond the reach of classical computers. However, with great power comes great responsibility. The journey towards integrating quantum computing into our societal fabric necessitates a thoughtful approach to governance. This essay explores the initial steps towards establishing governance principles for quantum computing and underscores the importance of continuous evolution of these principles as the technology matures....

Shadows Linger Cover - reproduced under Fair Use The second installment in “The Black Company” series “Shadows Linger” is a strange and sinister story, it bleeds the known and unknown into a dance that means you’re never quite sure what going to happen next. This novel stands out not just for its dark, gritty storytelling but for its intricate narrative structure that weaves together two distinct yet interconnected storylines. Through this dual narrative, Cook explores themes of moral ambiguity, loyalty, and the cost of survival in a world teeming with sorcery and conflict....

The Black Company Cover - reproduced under Fair Use In the realm of fantasy literature, where dragons often hoard gold and knights in shining armor rescue damsels in distress, Glen Cook’s “The Black Company” emerges as a stark outlier. This novel, the first in a series that bears the same name, introduces us to a world that is as morally complex as it is dark. Through the eyes of its characters, Cook offers a narrative that diverges sharply from the traditional paths of high fantasy....

When ChunkHost, a hosting provider I’d been using since the mid-2010s, announced its closure last year, I missed the warning emails. This oversight could have spelled disaster but, on reflection, it was a serendipitous push towards reevaluating my hosting needs and expenses. This experience, while initially seeming like a setback, turned into an exploration of more sustainable and cost-effective hosting solutions. Hosting, especially on dedicated servers or virtual machines, can be a significant overhead for anyone running websites or online projects....

In the rapidly evolving landscape of technology and finance, a new cultural practice has emerged, one that promises to redefine the way organizations manage their cloud costs. This practice, known as FinOps, represents a blend of finance and operations, specifically tailored to the unique demands of cloud computing. It’s not just a strategy or a set of guidelines but a profound shift in organizational culture, where cross-functional teams—spanning engineering, finance, product development, and beyond—collaborate to achieve a common goal: maximizing the value derived from cloud investments....