The Ford Mondeo mk5 (from 2015 onwards) has a number of useful features that are disabled in the factory but can be unlocked using free software and a USB cable, without any special knowledge. Here’s how. You will need a compatible ELM327 cable. There are loads on eBay but it can’t be just any –Continue reading “Unlocking features in your mk5 Mondeo with FORScan”
Author Archives: Jonathan
Merging SELinux policies
Originally published 2016-08-01 on the UoB Unix blog We make extensive use of SELinux on all our systems. We manage SELinux config and policy with the jfryman/selinux Puppet module, which means we store SELinux policies in plain text .te format – the same format that audit2allow generates them in. One of our SELinux policies that covers permissions for NRPE is a large file. When we generateContinue reading “Merging SELinux policies”
Fronting legacy services with Kubernetes
There are many benefits to Kubernetes but what’s not discussed so often is how to migrate your services from their legacy hosting to their new home in Kubernetes. Specifically, I’m looking at the case where you have a single server or a single public IP address and you want to run your services on thatContinue reading “Fronting legacy services with Kubernetes”
M5 traffic incidents
The M5 motorway is notorious for accidents in the summer holidays, and 2019 seems to be the worst year than anyone can remember – it seems like there is a crash on the M5 every other day. I’ve done a little light research to put some numbers to the congestion.
The mystery of the Canon A/L switch
Since the 1960s, Canon SLRs have had their power switch confusingly labelled as A and L. This has persisted through many different generations of camera and confused beginners through the ages. But what do the letters A and L stand for? Why not use On and Off, or a red dot and a white dot,Continue reading “The mystery of the Canon A/L switch”
Time lapse photography
It was recently announced that a new building is being constructed next to my office. It’s not any old building – it’s going to be a 26-storey tower, the tallest in Bristol! Working on the second-top floor of an adjacent office block, this is a great opportunity to get a birds’ eye view of the constructionContinue reading “Time lapse photography”
Making simple lens display stands out of wood
For the last article I wrote, a comparison of Canon 50mm lenses, I needed some way of photographing and displaying these lenses so they wouldn’t roll away. I decided to make some very simple lens stands out of scrap wood. Here’s how.
Canon 50mm f/1.8: the evolution of an icon
Anyone interested in photography will surely have heard of the “nifty fifty” – the 50mm standard SLR lens. Almost every single SLR manufacturer had a 50mm lens with and f/1.7, f/1.8 or f/2.0 aperture that was sold as the “kit lens”, and Canon was no exception. These days, “kit lens” has become a dirty wordContinue reading “Canon 50mm f/1.8: the evolution of an icon”
Behringer B-1 vs B-2
These two large-diaphragm condenser microphones from Behringer are likely to be among the first condenser microphones that audio engineers on a budget lay their hands on. What’s the fuss about? Are these good microphones? And how do they differ? The Behringer B-1 and B-2 are Behringer’s top of the range microphones. As part of theContinue reading “Behringer B-1 vs B-2”
Building a darkroom from scratch
I’ve moved house a few times over the last 10 years and at each place I’ve set up my own darkroom. I started with a rented flat, where I would develop film in the bathroom sink but there was no room for printing. At a later rented house, I made a makeshift darkroom in theContinue reading “Building a darkroom from scratch”
Jonathan Gazeley 