James Callaghan

Category: Journal

  • Believe in your dreams

    Believe in your dreams

    Almost ten years ago I was lucky enough to be invited by my college to attend a Microsoft conference called “A Glimpse into the world of a computer scientist”. It was held at the Microsoft Research building in Cambridge. Can you remember something you were doing ten years ago?

    My certificate of attendance to "A glimpse into the world as a computer scientist", a Microsoft Research Cambridge conference
    My certificate of attendance to “A glimpse into the world as a computer scientist”, a conference held at Microsoft Research in Cambridge.

    The conference gave me grant insight into Microsoft and the world of computer science. Frankly it was rocket fuel and really kick-started my career off in IT! I volunteered to participate in a research project discussed during the conference. My family and I were selected a help test a product called the Whereabouts Clock (pictures below) – imagine the Harry Potter clock! A few months later we were working with a Microsoft Research Employee called Alex Taylor –  a researcher in the Socio-Digital Systems team. The clock was designed to display the whereabouts of everyone in the family. This was achieved through location data transmitted from smartphones and shared with an application. Each member in the family were then placed in a pre-defined segment of the clock, Home, Work or School. You can read more about the Whereabouts Clock on the Microsoft Research website.

    The Microsoft Research Whereabouts Clock, 2006
    The Microsoft Research Whereabouts Clock, 2006
    Find my Friends iOS App ten years on from The Whereabouts Clock
    Find my Friends iOS App ten years on from The Whereabouts Clock

    Scarily ten years have passed. While Microsoft never released “The Whereabouts Clock”, their work directly or indirectly can be seen on the smartphones in our pockets today. Google launched its Latitude app, although this has now been retired, Apple have their Find my iPhone and Find my Friends apps (picture above) and Microsoft have their Find my Windows Phone. Other applications exist to manage scenarios similar to those of the “Whereabouts Clock”, one such example is Life360 Family Locator. Ten years on, I also still have my bright orange Microsoft Research bag (picture below) – you know how much I like my bags!

    I still have my Microsoft Research conference bag ten years on!
    I still have my Microsoft Research conference bag ten years on!

    Back in February I got my dream blue badge and started my new job with Microsoft. working in the Microsoft Consulting Services (MCS) group. I emailed Alex a few days ago, ten years on he still remembered me and my family and the research we did with him. He was so happy to discover I’m now working for Microsoft! Alex still works for Microsoft Research in Cambridge. I hope to meet him in person soon as he has kindly offered to give me a tour of the labs in Cambridge.

    I’d like to leave you with one last message, inspired by a wonderful article published by Scott Hanselman when he was hired by Microsoft. I was particularly lucky to attend the Microsoft Research conference in 2005 and to be involved with “The Whereabouts Clock” research. But all that aside, I worked very hard at college and spent the last ten years working equally as hard developing my career, doing something I thoroughly enjoy and am passionate about (see Scott’s dream job Venn diagram in his post). All this enabled me to achieve my dream to work for Microsoft – thank you to all those who have helped me along the way – massive kudos to those who have helped me along the way such as Marshall Aerospace and ClearPeople. If you have dreams – don’t stop believing in them!

    James Callaghan, jamecal, jcallaghan.com, jamescallaghan

  • Discover what’s inside my man bag…

    Discover what’s inside my man bag…

    Ok, it’s time for me to confess that I like a man bag or two. I really appreciate a stylish and high-quality bag and have to admit I have a few. I don’t buy them at a rate like my partner does (along with her shoes) but when that time arises, I take a trip to France! Join me in this post to discover my various bags and what’s in them bag – inspired by one of my favourite blogs Lifehacker.

    Inspired many years ago by the various stories of ‘Featured Bags’ from Lifehacker and ‘What’s in our bags’, I’ve always wanted to write one of these posts for myself at the right time – that time is now!

    As a SharePoint Consultant who is often on the road, it is important for me to have various pieces of technology & equipment and those other ‘things’ with me for when the need arises. Equally as important as having the right things with me at the right time is having a bag that is high quality, elegant in design, durable and comfortable to carry around. Let me share with you my collection of bags…

    The bag collection

    I have two French laptop bags, an overnight bag and a Crumpler Good Boy 13″ sling bag. My favourite is the smaller, more recent laptop bag. I received this for Christmas from my girlfriend (thank you, thank you, thank you) along with the overnight bag. They’re both from the same town in France where I brought my first laptop bag a year or so ago.

    My favourite bag (Francinel 13" laptop bag)
    My favourite bag (Francinel 13″ laptop bag)
    The workhorse (Katana 15" laptop bag)
    The workhorse (Katana 15″ laptop bag)
    The sleeper (David Jones overnight bag)
    The sleeper (David Jones overnight bag)
    Undercover (Crumpler 13" Good Boy sling bag)
    Undercover (Crumpler 13″ Good Boy sling bag)

    Where do they come from? Well, the Crumpler I brought in the Crumpler store on the Strand, London a few years back. The other bags…I cannot say. It’ll give away my secrets – I can say though that they came from France!

    What’s inside my bag?

    Lots of people have asked me what I carry in my bag…here is your chance and theirs, to see what’s inside my bag (on a typical day):

    Itemised:

    1. A good book to read – at present I’m reading “The man who knew too much” (Alan Turing) by David Leavitt
    2. My favourite watch!
    3. A strong umbrella
    4. Oakley Sunglasses
    5. Cacoon Grid-it organiser
    6. Canon PowerShot SX280 HS
    7. Beats Headphones
    8. iPhone 5 (this may become a Lumia soon)
    9. MacBook Air 13″ (although I’m sure this might change to something less Apple-based like a Surface Pro 3 soon)
    10. Microsoft Arc Touch Mouse
    11. Huawei 4G Mi-Fi
    12. Leatherman Titanium
    13. Powerbank (RavPower Deluxe)
    14. Western Digital Pocket drive and various flash drives (all but one encrypted mind!)
    15. Various adapters (USB to Ethernet, Miniport to VGA etc)
    16. Logitech R700 presentation remote
    17. Laptop lock cable (for the bag, not the laptop)
    18. Moleskin notebook
    19. Bluetooth speaker with microphone – great for conference calls
    20. Pens. Pens. Pens. Particularly my Parker fountain pen and a really good whiteboard marker.
    21. Welfare stuff like tissues, hand cleaner, wet wipes and some Nurofen!
    22. Envelope to stash receipts
    23. Peter Rabbit and Paddington Bear – when I travel I like to take pictures of these two in front of recognisable and special places to send to my daughter.

    There you have it…my bags and what’s in them.

  • Home brew grain milling with a coffee grinder

    Home brew grain milling with a coffee grinder

    I unpacked all our ingredients and equipment to start the home brew project off today, only to find I made a very silly mistake. I had ordered 3kg of Maris Otter uncrushed and had no way to crush it. No problem, I’ll just order some more I thought. It got me thinking though, and not waste this grain, was it possible to mill the grain ourselves before the online order arrived?

    Maris Otter uncrushed grain
    Maris Otter uncrushed grain

    First home brew disappointment

    Hoping to start our first brew off on Tuesday evening, I was doubtful that the online order would be delivered in time. The order was dispatched and estimated to arrive within two working days. The race was on!

    Local breweries, forums & rolling pins

    The research began. I reached out to two local micro-breweries and asked them if they had a grain mill available, unsurprisingly they didn’t! One suggested using a pestle & mortar or a rolling pin which I tried but I felt the result wasn’t great. While attempting the pestle & mortar method I questioned whether we needed a grain mill to crush the grain or can we use some other tool?

    Homebrewer Research & Argos

    I did want any home brewer would do and reached out in search of an answer in the homebrewer forums. It seems we’re not the only ones to have made this mistake! One method suggested by many homebrewers was to use an electric coffee grinder. Staying clear of any internet suppliers to avoid any further delays with delivery etc, I leapt on the Argos website, where I found three different coffee grinders available. I read their product descriptions and reserved the one with the largest capacity and easiest access (De’Longhi KG40 Coffee Bean Grinder). Within 20 minutes of making the reservation, I had the thing unboxed on the counter, grain loaded and all!

    Milling grain with coffee grinders

    A few test grinds indicated I needed to grind for 12 seconds to get it to the consistency I needed. I was able to grind just over a 100g each go and milled our batch of 3kg in less than 15 minutes. The coffee grinder solution does work!

    Crushed Maris Otter
    Crushed Maris Otter

    The solution is not all perfect as we’re not able to grind, mill or crush grain consistently as you might be able to with a true grain mill but we do have an efficient tool for those rare occasions when we need it. Bonus, we can grind coffee beans as well!

    3kg of Maris Otter crushed using a coffee grinder
    3kg of Maris Otter crushed using a coffee grinder

    We beat the online order!

    It is Tuesday, our uncrushed grain is now crushed. Two working days have passed and the online order still hasn’t arrived. Nothing can stop us from starting our first brew as planned this evening.

  • Grandads carrot soup recipe

    Grandads carrot soup recipe

    A few friends have asked me to share my Grandads carrot soup recipe with them but I decided to share it here instead. It’s a recipe that originates from grandad Callaghan hence the name. Often this Carrot Soup recipe is served for Christmas dinner but great all year round. More recently I make this as a quick start for dinner parties with some homemade bread rolls.

    Grandads Carrot Soup - Simmering
    Grandads Carrot Soup – Simmering

    Grandads Carrot Soup Recipe

    Serves: 4
    Prep Time: 15 mins
    Cook Time: 45 mins
    Ready in 60 minutes

    Ingredients

    • 3 tbsp butter
    • 1 lb carrots, peeled and grated
    • 8 ozs potatoes, peeled and diced
    • 2 small onions, finely chopped
    • 1 ½ pints of vegetable stock
    • White pepper to taste
    • 1 ½ tsp salt
    • 2 tbsp double cream
    • 2 tsp of Paprika
    • 1 tbsp of fennel seeds

    Method

    1. In a medium saucepan melt the butter over moderate heat.
    2. Reduce the heat to low and sweat of the chopped onions.
    3. Add the carrots and potatoes and cook for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally to prevent the vegetables from sticking to the pan.
    4. Add the Fennel seeds and optionally the Paprika to add a slightly smokey taste to the Carrot Soup.
    5. Pour in the vegetable stock and simmer for a further 20 minutes, or until the vegetables are soft.
    6. Season to taste with the salt and white pepper
    7. Remove the pan from the heat and either press the Carrot Soup through a strainer placed over a medium-sized mixing bowl or alternatively use a blender directly in the pan (tip: place cling film around the top of the pan and blender to avoid making a mess).
    8. Return the pan to a simmer uncovered until the soup thickens.
    9. Stir in the cream and add more seasoning if necessary.
    10. Serve Grandads Carrot Soup in hot bowls with a swirl of cream and sprinkle of fennel seeds.
    • Grandads Carrot Soup - Peeled Carrots
    • Grandads Carrot Soup - Ingredients
    • Grandads Carrot Soup - Grated Carrots
    • Grandads Carrot Soup - Simmering

    If there is excess Carrot Soup consider freezing some in suitable containers to have for a quick meal when such a time arrises.

    It’s a pretty straight forward Carrot Soup recipe and I hope you enjoy as much as I do. The hardest part is all the peeling and grating and let’s be honest that’s not that hard! Enjoy on behalf of Grandad Callaghan

  • Some light reading after the SharePoint Conference

    Some light reading after the SharePoint Conference

    I’ve managed to pickup some reading materials while in America that are going to keep me busy for some weeks.

    Microsoft SharePoint 2013 Administration

    First up was a book (Microsoft SharePoint 2013 Administration) I picked up at the AvePoint during a book signing during the SharePoint Conference.

    Two of the Authors Randy Williams and Chris Givens kindly signed it for me – it was really great to meet these two authors after many years of reading their books.

    Authors Randy Williams and Chris Givens at AvePoint book signing.
    Authors Randy Williams and Chris Givens at AvePoint book signing.

    Alcatraz 1259

    Second up was a book (Alcatraz 1259) from Alcatraz Island signed by the author Willam G. Baker himself who happened to be there just after finishing his parole aged 81. He is one of the last living cons who served in US Penitentiary Alcatraz and shares his account of life there in the book.

    Alcatraz 1259 author William G. Baker during book signing.
    Alcatraz 1259 author William G. Baker during book signing.

    I hadn’t appreciated the history of the Island, the Penitentiary or the prisoners and guards up until the audio tour. Up until this point I had just seen it as a prison in America that featured in the movie The Rock but the Island has a fascinating past – one that I am looking forward to learning more and more about.

    I’ve struggled to put Bill’s account of life on the Island down since we brought it – once done I’m going to find a guards account of life on the Island among others.

    MCSA Windows Server 2012 exams

    During the SharePoint Conference, I took the opportunity to update my Microsoft Certifications – more about that another day.

    To complete the Microsoft Certified Solutions Expert (MCSE) in SharePoint I have to pass 70-410, 70-411 and 70-412 also making me a Microsoft Certified Solutions Associate (MCSA) in Windows Server 2012.

    MCSA Windows Server 2012 reading
    MCSA Windows Server 2012 reading

    Happy reading I guess.

  • My Microsoft Certification Challenge

    My Microsoft Certification Challenge

    The SharePoint Conference has sadly finished and our holiday has started. We are currently staying in a lodge on the South Rim of the Grand Canyon for a few days…slightly different from the Venetian where we’ve spent the last week.

    Having passed 70-331 and 70-332  at the SharePoint Conference (#SPC14) I have decide to take the Microsoft Certification Challenge and work towards updating my existing certifications and getting new ones over the next 180 days.

    My Certification Challenge
    My Certification Challenge
    1. MCSA for Windows Server 2012 (70-410, 70-411, 70-412)
    2. MCSE for SharePoint (70-331, 70-332)
    3. MCTS for Office 365 (70-323)
    4. MCITP for Office 365 (70-321)
    5. MCSE Private Cloud (70-246, 70-247)

    Wish me luck!

    PS. Microsoft Learning have a really useful Certification Guide available – the Windows 8 App is great and there is a PDF alternative if you don’t have Windows 8.

    Microsoft Learning and Certification Windows 8 App
    Microsoft Learning and Certification Windows 8 App
  • Bill Baer meets Florence

    Bill Baer meets Florence

    This evening I have had the great pleasure of meeting Bill Baer and his wife.

    Meeting Bill Baer
    Meeting Bill Baer

    With @jamescallaghan and family @ SPC14. pic.twitter.com/nfEjXmeHjy

    Try to meet these lovely people during the conference – such a pleasure. Takeaways…got to the #SCP14 welcome reception, keynote keynote keynote, sub-keynote sub-keynote sub-keynote, attendee party, and ask the experts (what’s next…MCM)…

    Bill Baer & James
    Bill Baer & James

    Thanks for finding the time to meet with me this evening, Bill – I look forward to repeating this in the future. You’re a true inspiration and someone I’ve looked up to since getting started with SharePoint.

  • I’m attending the SharePoint Conference 2014 #SPC14 in Las Vegas!

    I’m attending the SharePoint Conference 2014 #SPC14 in Las Vegas!

    It is a very special day for me today – ClearPeople has just approved my trip to attend the SharePoint Conference 2014 (#SPC14). Thank you thank you thank you!

    #SPC14
    #SPC14

    Each time the conference comes around I’d try to make a business case or as in recent weeks, plead to attend but for various reasons, it has never been possible. This year however the answer was yes!

    It’s been a long wait but I think this is for the better – I have now far more experience with SharePoint than ever and feel that the company and I will gain more by attending this time around. My focus has shifted and I will no longer be attending the conference with just SharePoint in mind but instead with SharePoint, Cloud & Windows Azure, Office 365 & SharePoint Online and Yammer to think about!

    A few highlights I am looking forward to:-

    • Meeting some of my peers who I have followed online for so long (Todd Klindt, Bill Baer, Wictor Wilén and Spencer Harbar to name a few)
    • Attending some of the outstanding sessions I’m sure the following speakers will be delivering such as Shane Young, Laura Rogers, Fabian Williams, Jennifer Mason, Andrew Connell and Joel Oleson
    • Sessions such as Office 365 identity federation using Windows Azure and Windows Azure Active Directory; Best practices for Information Architecture and Enterprise Search and Real-world SharePoint architecture decisions
    • Networking with other like-minded people
    • Obtaining the invaluable material that I will have access to through attending the conference
    • Learning more about what is or will become available to those who were wanting to pursue this certification now that the Microsoft Certified Solutions Master (MCSM) programme is no more
    • Discovering what the next big thing for SharePoint might be?

    I will be blogging about the conference no doubt before, during and after the event – you can follow all of this content with this tag #SPC14. The fun of organising this trip now begins!

  • One Canon in, one Canon out

    One Canon in, one Canon out

    Last week for my birthday I treated myself to a new Canon PowerShot SX280 HS digital camera and shelved my rather old and tied Canon IXUS 220 HS. This was in part because I could no longer look at blurred and distorted images. Before anyone comments this was not due to my shaky hands but instead because the camera has been a gem and put up with a battering over the last three years – in fact, I’m surprised it lasted this long!

    Canon PowerShot SX280 HS
    Canon PowerShot SX280 HS

    By no means is this post going meant to be an in-depth feature-by-feature review – I read what felt like a million of these before deciding on this camera instead I’ve shared some of these review with you below. I wanted to use this post to share with you my first thoughts on this camera, how it immediately delivered on my surprise trip to Berlin for my Birthday and generally how excellent I think the Canon PowerShot SX280 HS is.

    Berlin
    Berlin Christmas market

    A lot of the reviews I read highlighted an issue with the firmware whereby the battery becomes flat after only a few seconds of video recording. With this in mind, I managed to update the firmware which fixed the issue and touch wood I’ve not had any problems thus far.

    The reviews also advised purchasing a spare battery if you want to use the GPS logging feature due to how much battery the uses. As I quite liked the idea of using the GPS logger especially while on the trip to Berlin I brought a couple of spares!
    Even with this feature enabled I was still getting pretty much two-thirds of a day of rather intensive use out of the camera but it was reassuring knowing I had a spare battery in my pocket. One thing to remember is to disable the GPS logger feature when you’re not using it as I forgot and after a few days of not using the Camera, I went to use it only to find the battery was flat.

    GPS logger track
    GPS logger track

    Using the built-in WiFi you can share pictures and video to various services such as Facebook and Flickr. You have to configure these services on the camera via your computer which I found quite tedious even for me but after a little patience and perseverance, 30 minutes later I managed to set up all my sharing accounts. It’s really neat being able to sync pictures straight to my phone using the Canon CameraWindow iPhone app or send them straight to my Flickr account.

    My favourite feature on the camera is the Hybrid Auto mode that records a small four-second video clip prior to every picture you take and these are then merged to form a movie of your day known as Movie Digest. I found that if you take lots of Hybrid Auto pictures it causes the camera to slow down while it saves and merges the movie and by using a high-speed SD card I was able to resolve this.

    The 20x optical zoom on the camera is incredible but at this level of zoom, I found my best photos were those that I have taken with support from a Gorilla Grip tripod or similar.

    One thing I would suggest is to play around with all the modes of the camera as there are a number of effects that you can apply to images along with some great functions that unfortunately are not so obvious until you navigate through the various menus.

    Here are a few review sites for the Canon PowerShot SX280 HS that I found most useful – Photography Blog; TechRadar; Geekanoids.

    I just love this camera, it has enough manual controls to keep me happy and the Hybrid mode is just perfect for instantly creating a fantastic video memory of pictures you’ve taken throughout the day. Changing from my old Canon to my new one was almost seamless with the way Canon has kept the user interface and controls very similar. The camera really lived up to all the reviews I read and even my expectations from Canon. Overall the camera was competitively priced against similar models on the market and with Canon throwing in £30 cashback, it’s a bargain.

    Five out of five stars ***** from me!

  • Sloe Gin, 2013

    Sloe Gin, 2013

    The first batch of our sloe gin has been prepared and laid down until at least Christmas or should that be for as long as I can keep my hands off it!!!

    The method I decided to use was to prick the sloes multiple times by hand with a fork and divide them between some lovely 1L Kilner bottles. I then filled the bottles up to one-third of there size with sloes and with two-thirds of Gordan’s gin.

    The sloes
    The sloes

    The Method

    I decided not to add any sugar at this stage as I wanted to allow the sugar from the sloes to be extracted first (I always find sloe gin to be on the sweet side and I have a very sweet tooth). That’s not to say I won’t be adding any sugar, but not for a few weeks at least and when I do I have been advised to either use honey or to heat the sugar in a small amount of water to allow the sugar to dissolve more easily before adding it to the gin. The bottles will be given the occasional shake and swirl to ensure that all that lovely flavour from the sloes mixes in properly.

    Bottled sloe gin
    Bottled sloe gin

    I intend to leave the gin flavouring until Christmas (that’s almost three months!) and may even hold back one bottle longer to see how it changes even more time…but hopefully, I will be able to make a few more bottles over the coming weeks.

    Beautiful red flavouring gin
    Beautiful red flavouring Gin

    I will report back later with how it tastes!!!

  • The Red Lion, Cromer

    The Red Lion, Cromer

    If you’re visiting Cromer anytime soon then you must try and have a meal in The Red Lion on the seafront. It was very reasonable for two of us to have two courses there – both of which were very delicious and adequately filling.

    The Red Lion, Cromer, Norfolk, NR27 9HD (01263 514964)

    www.redlioncromer.co.uk

  • Crab & Winkle, Whitsable

    We had such a fantastic meal at the Crab & Winkle Restaurant in Whitstable that I wanted to share it amongst friends. The staff where all friendly and very accommodating considering we had Florence and the pram with us. Each dish was absolutely delicious and it was just the fish-fix I had been craving. Sadly we were not able to visit the fish market as it had long been closed by the time we arrived…but it’s something for us to try next time we go visit.

    The Crab & Winkle Fish & Seafood Restaurant, South Quay, The Harbour, Whitstable, Kent, CT5 1AB (01227 779377).

    www.crabandwinklerestaurant.co.uk