Welcome to the personal website and blog of software developer – Andy Heathershaw.
I’m a commercial Microsoft .NET developer and open-source PHP developer based in the West Midlands, England. I live with my husband and I’m daddy to a nine-year-old Labrador called Mickey and two growing boys.
Check out About Andy Heathershaw to read more about me, or browse my blog posts below.
Wednesday, 9th August, 2023
It’s been 4 and a half years since we last went to Orlando, Florida. In fact, it’s been that long since we went abroad (thanks, COVID!)
On Friday, 11th August, we’ll be flying out for a 2 week break to Orlando (and Disney, obviously.)
I’ll be live-blogging on this page at key points during the day with updates and photos of our journey.
Friday, 7th July, 2023
I've added a new feature to the website for Simply Remind Me - my free email and simple text reminder app. The website now shows live statistics, read directly from the Simply Remind Me platform.
The statistics show the number of new users, events created, reminders sent and the number of unique timezones the app has users registered in - since the start of 2023.
Simply Remind Me , Software Development Read more
Sunday, 16th April, 2023
I've today released a major new version of my free email reminder app and simple text and phone call reminder app, Simply Remind Me.
This release has been nearly 4 months in the making and introduces some new features I'm excited to deliver to you, and some important bug fixes.
This article describes the new features and enhancements that are now live in Simply Remind Me.
Simply Remind Me , Software Development Read more
Monday, 13th February, 2023
This article - along with the rest of my website here at andysh.uk - is now being served from OctoberCMS.
OctoberCMS is a proprietary content management system built on the amazing Laravel PHP framework. This is a significant change for me both personally, and technically, for 2 key reasons.
Read on to find out more about OctoberCMS and Laravel.
Software Development Read more
Tuesday, 27th September, 2022
In the worsening weather conditions reminiscent of Hurricane Matthew, back in October 2016, Disney Parks in Florida are closing again.
This time, they are closing the Disney theme parks and water parks two days for Hurricane Ian, starting tomorrow, September 28th.
Disney , Reflections Read more
Wednesday, 14th September, 2022
I have hosted my website and applications on a Fasthosts VPS since September 2019. Each year, I have upgraded my VPS to a current model.
What has kept me hosting with Fasthosts for nearly 3 years, and confident in their services that I can recommend them to others?
This article answers those questions and dives into the Fasthosts VPS product to create an honest review from a real, current customer.
Thursday, 8th September, 2022
It is with great sadness the Royal Family today announced the passing of Queen Elizabeth II.
She died peacefully this afternoon at her beloved holiday home in Balmoral.
Sunday, 15th May, 2022
Today, 14th May, I discovered that SMS messages sent from my Simply Remind Me app since 1st March were not being delivered by my SMS provider.
Because they were successfully accepted by the gateway, Simply Remind Me correctly deducted the credits from your account. But the messages failed to arrive at their intended handsets.
Simply Remind Me , Software Development Read more
Friday, 21st January, 2022
Updates for devices running the Linux operating system come in the form of packages. Using the Linux system’s package manager, you install new packages and upgrade them as new versions are released.
Now sure you can log onto each Linux device and run apt update && apt upgrade, or dnf update, depending on your distribution. But what if you have several – even hundreds – of devices to keep updated? And how do you know what new updates are available?
Friday, 31st December, 2021
2021 started with much hope of vaccines to bring an end to the COVID-19 pandemic, alas it wasn’t enough.
A year – and three vaccines later – and there is no end yet in sight. Although hospitalisations are steady, despite the rising number of cases of the Omicron variant, so maybe there is a glimmer of hope for 2022.
As I reflect on the last year, I’ve made some achievements I’m proud of – both personal and professional.