Damien Guard
@damieng.com
• Software engineer @MongoDB (EF/C#)
• Was @Auth0 (SDKs), @GitHub (Atom), @Microsoft (EF), @Xbox (Web/Sec), @Netflix (Players)
• Font designer, dad to twins, 8/16-bit fanatic, C# fan
❤️☮️
• Was @Auth0 (SDKs), @GitHub (Atom), @Microsoft (EF), @Xbox (Web/Sec), @Netflix (Players)
• Font designer, dad to twins, 8/16-bit fanatic, C# fan
❤️☮️
Friends don't let friends have a crack at pixel fonts in shipping products...
January 23, 2026 at 6:05 PM
Friends don't let friends have a crack at pixel fonts in shipping products...
Reposted by Damien Guard
My latest track 'Overdrive' is a homage to the era of early 3D graphics and classic PlayStation vibes 🎮 Available now on all major music platforms: fanlink.tv/ovdrv
January 20, 2026 at 5:40 PM
My latest track 'Overdrive' is a homage to the era of early 3D graphics and classic PlayStation vibes 🎮 Available now on all major music platforms: fanlink.tv/ovdrv
Kids were off school Friday due to the storm so printed out a math worksheet from learningresources.co.uk
Yeah that's not how you divide decimals. Now if that was a multiplication sure... but divided the answer is 4.
Yeah that's not how you divide decimals. Now if that was a multiplication sure... but divided the answer is 4.
January 11, 2026 at 6:58 PM
Kids were off school Friday due to the storm so printed out a math worksheet from learningresources.co.uk
Yeah that's not how you divide decimals. Now if that was a multiplication sure... but divided the answer is 4.
Yeah that's not how you divide decimals. Now if that was a multiplication sure... but divided the answer is 4.
Reposted by Damien Guard
Intuition is all you need.
Math is the language of the universe.
We made it feel terrifying.
It doesn't have to be.
Made a thing 💜
unmath.ai
Share with someone who was tricked into thinking math wasn't for them!
Math is the language of the universe.
We made it feel terrifying.
It doesn't have to be.
Made a thing 💜
unmath.ai
Share with someone who was tricked into thinking math wasn't for them!
January 5, 2026 at 10:02 PM
Intuition is all you need.
Math is the language of the universe.
We made it feel terrifying.
It doesn't have to be.
Made a thing 💜
unmath.ai
Share with someone who was tricked into thinking math wasn't for them!
Math is the language of the universe.
We made it feel terrifying.
It doesn't have to be.
Made a thing 💜
unmath.ai
Share with someone who was tricked into thinking math wasn't for them!
Reposted by Damien Guard
I don't write promo posts on vacation, but I could post screenshots I guess 🤔
itch.io/s/158296/40-...
itch.io/s/158296/40-...
December 28, 2025 at 6:41 PM
I don't write promo posts on vacation, but I could post screenshots I guess 🤔
itch.io/s/158296/40-...
itch.io/s/158296/40-...
We thought continuous rapid releases were going to be great but we missed something.
Constant interruption to your users.
Every few days Resharper, Cursor, Zoom and a others pester me to drop my work so *they* can update.
People have work to do. Your updates are a disruption.
Constant interruption to your users.
Every few days Resharper, Cursor, Zoom and a others pester me to drop my work so *they* can update.
People have work to do. Your updates are a disruption.
December 11, 2025 at 11:53 AM
We thought continuous rapid releases were going to be great but we missed something.
Constant interruption to your users.
Every few days Resharper, Cursor, Zoom and a others pester me to drop my work so *they* can update.
People have work to do. Your updates are a disruption.
Constant interruption to your users.
Every few days Resharper, Cursor, Zoom and a others pester me to drop my work so *they* can update.
People have work to do. Your updates are a disruption.
HTML5 video is a still a bit of a pain with codecs, auto-play, formats, quick-starts, optimizations...
I've dusted off my internal cheat-sheet, made it more accessible and put it up as a post. Enjoy!
damieng.com/blog/2025/12...
I've dusted off my internal cheat-sheet, made it more accessible and put it up as a post. Enjoy!
damieng.com/blog/2025/12...
HTML5 Video Cheatsheet: Optimizing videos for the web - DamienG
Creating videos for your page can be tricky, especially if you ensure your videos load quickly, play smoothly, auto start, and work across all devices and browsers.
damieng.com
December 5, 2025 at 12:47 PM
HTML5 video is a still a bit of a pain with codecs, auto-play, formats, quick-starts, optimizations...
I've dusted off my internal cheat-sheet, made it more accessible and put it up as a post. Enjoy!
damieng.com/blog/2025/12...
I've dusted off my internal cheat-sheet, made it more accessible and put it up as a post. Enjoy!
damieng.com/blog/2025/12...
Another .NET 10 gotcha...
The CLR is now "smarter" at determining if previously heap-allocated things can instead be allocated on the stack.
macOS has a smaller stack size than Windows and Linux so if you've "tested" your app on .NET 10 and think it's ready to ship... well... test on macOS too.
The CLR is now "smarter" at determining if previously heap-allocated things can instead be allocated on the stack.
macOS has a smaller stack size than Windows and Linux so if you've "tested" your app on .NET 10 and think it's ready to ship... well... test on macOS too.
November 28, 2025 at 7:46 AM
Another .NET 10 gotcha...
The CLR is now "smarter" at determining if previously heap-allocated things can instead be allocated on the stack.
macOS has a smaller stack size than Windows and Linux so if you've "tested" your app on .NET 10 and think it's ready to ship... well... test on macOS too.
The CLR is now "smarter" at determining if previously heap-allocated things can instead be allocated on the stack.
macOS has a smaller stack size than Windows and Linux so if you've "tested" your app on .NET 10 and think it's ready to ship... well... test on macOS too.
Today I learnt that Sony UK's TV support center thinks the Consumer Rights Act 2015 does not apply to them and that their warranty and terms & conditions are all that matters.
Oh, and that they will not give out details or where to send escalations and complaints.
Or repair a £2.300 TV.
Nice.
Oh, and that they will not give out details or where to send escalations and complaints.
Or repair a £2.300 TV.
Nice.
November 27, 2025 at 3:13 PM
Today I learnt that Sony UK's TV support center thinks the Consumer Rights Act 2015 does not apply to them and that their warranty and terms & conditions are all that matters.
Oh, and that they will not give out details or where to send escalations and complaints.
Or repair a £2.300 TV.
Nice.
Oh, and that they will not give out details or where to send escalations and complaints.
Or repair a £2.300 TV.
Nice.
The point of reviewing a PR is to find objective issues with it. It's not to tell the author how you would have done it line by line.
Nobody can correctly guess how you would have done it nor that your way is free from scrutiny by way of being the reviewer not commiter.
Nobody can correctly guess how you would have done it nor that your way is free from scrutiny by way of being the reviewer not commiter.
November 27, 2025 at 8:58 AM
The point of reviewing a PR is to find objective issues with it. It's not to tell the author how you would have done it line by line.
Nobody can correctly guess how you would have done it nor that your way is free from scrutiny by way of being the reviewer not commiter.
Nobody can correctly guess how you would have done it nor that your way is free from scrutiny by way of being the reviewer not commiter.
"Rest assured..."
The universal sign of "You're going to be disappointed with my inability to resolve your issue in about 5-10 minutes."
The universal sign of "You're going to be disappointed with my inability to resolve your issue in about 5-10 minutes."
October 28, 2025 at 11:06 AM
"Rest assured..."
The universal sign of "You're going to be disappointed with my inability to resolve your issue in about 5-10 minutes."
The universal sign of "You're going to be disappointed with my inability to resolve your issue in about 5-10 minutes."
Reposted by Damien Guard
My first blog post for MongoDB: Vector search with embeddings using EF Core against MongoDB. Super easy to get started, everything running free and locally for no hassle trying stuff out! #EFCore #MongoDB #dotnet
dev.to/mongodb/mong...
dev.to/mongodb/mong...
MongoDB Vector Search With EF Core
This post was written by Arthur Vickers, Staff Engineer at MongoDB The 8.3.3 and 9.0.3 releases of...
dev.to
October 27, 2025 at 1:14 PM
My first blog post for MongoDB: Vector search with embeddings using EF Core against MongoDB. Super easy to get started, everything running free and locally for no hassle trying stuff out! #EFCore #MongoDB #dotnet
dev.to/mongodb/mong...
dev.to/mongodb/mong...
I just shipped explicit transaction support in our MongoDB EF Core Provider.
Check out how to use it and how it differs implicit transactions (supported since 2024) and ambient transactions.
damieng.com/blog/2025/10...
Check out how to use it and how it differs implicit transactions (supported since 2024) and ambient transactions.
damieng.com/blog/2025/10...
Transactions in the MongoDB EF Core Provider - DamienG
Database transactions ensure that multi-record (or in our case multi-document) operations either all succeed or all fail together.
damieng.com
October 25, 2025 at 3:38 PM
I just shipped explicit transaction support in our MongoDB EF Core Provider.
Check out how to use it and how it differs implicit transactions (supported since 2024) and ambient transactions.
damieng.com/blog/2025/10...
Check out how to use it and how it differs implicit transactions (supported since 2024) and ambient transactions.
damieng.com/blog/2025/10...
So when Alexa sends skill requests it has a userId (obviously) but also optionally it can have a personId if you have voice id enabled.
Which means requests can be individually tailored.
Why exactly do neither Spotify or Apple allow you to associate a person id with a family plan member?
Which means requests can be individually tailored.
Why exactly do neither Spotify or Apple allow you to associate a person id with a family plan member?
September 30, 2025 at 4:13 PM
So when Alexa sends skill requests it has a userId (obviously) but also optionally it can have a personId if you have voice id enabled.
Which means requests can be individually tailored.
Why exactly do neither Spotify or Apple allow you to associate a person id with a family plan member?
Which means requests can be individually tailored.
Why exactly do neither Spotify or Apple allow you to associate a person id with a family plan member?
I get it - you built something in a week using AI.
But do you really have a good product or SaaS startup now?
What's to stop anyone else doing what you just did?
Somebody less knowledgeable might be able to do it even better in 4 days with next months tools...
But do you really have a good product or SaaS startup now?
What's to stop anyone else doing what you just did?
Somebody less knowledgeable might be able to do it even better in 4 days with next months tools...
September 29, 2025 at 4:00 PM
I get it - you built something in a week using AI.
But do you really have a good product or SaaS startup now?
What's to stop anyone else doing what you just did?
Somebody less knowledgeable might be able to do it even better in 4 days with next months tools...
But do you really have a good product or SaaS startup now?
What's to stop anyone else doing what you just did?
Somebody less knowledgeable might be able to do it even better in 4 days with next months tools...
"Your email address was found in a data breach."
At this point without more information these notifications and services are worse than useless.
At this point without more information these notifications and services are worse than useless.
September 15, 2025 at 4:48 PM
"Your email address was found in a data breach."
At this point without more information these notifications and services are worse than useless.
At this point without more information these notifications and services are worse than useless.
Ferris hacks his grades in the opening scenes of Ferris Bueller's Day Of... 1986.
Sooo... almost 40 years ago.
Everything old is new.
Sooo... almost 40 years ago.
Everything old is new.
This isn't news, kids have been doing this ever since computers were first installed in class rooms/school libraries. www.bbc.com/news/article...
Children hacking their own schools for 'fun', watchdog warns
The Information Commissioner's Office says schools face an "insider threat" from children as young as seven.
www.bbc.com
September 15, 2025 at 2:50 PM
Ferris hacks his grades in the opening scenes of Ferris Bueller's Day Of... 1986.
Sooo... almost 40 years ago.
Everything old is new.
Sooo... almost 40 years ago.
Everything old is new.
I get why people want phones with better cameras.
Better battery life, definitely.
Lighter? Sure.
But this Apple obsession with making it everything thin..
I don't need to save 3mm in my pocket, if I did I wouldn't buy a big-screen phone.
Give me a bigger battery any day.
Better battery life, definitely.
Lighter? Sure.
But this Apple obsession with making it everything thin..
I don't need to save 3mm in my pocket, if I did I wouldn't buy a big-screen phone.
Give me a bigger battery any day.
September 10, 2025 at 2:26 PM
I get why people want phones with better cameras.
Better battery life, definitely.
Lighter? Sure.
But this Apple obsession with making it everything thin..
I don't need to save 3mm in my pocket, if I did I wouldn't buy a big-screen phone.
Give me a bigger battery any day.
Better battery life, definitely.
Lighter? Sure.
But this Apple obsession with making it everything thin..
I don't need to save 3mm in my pocket, if I did I wouldn't buy a big-screen phone.
Give me a bigger battery any day.
I don't necessarily believe I'm looking at the past with rose-tinted glasses.
I just think it had better colour grading.
I just think it had better colour grading.
September 10, 2025 at 10:43 AM
I don't necessarily believe I'm looking at the past with rose-tinted glasses.
I just think it had better colour grading.
I just think it had better colour grading.
"Large diffs are not rendered by default."
Those 7 little words that make you take a deep breath before clicking.
Those 7 little words that make you take a deep breath before clicking.
August 20, 2025 at 5:25 PM
"Large diffs are not rendered by default."
Those 7 little words that make you take a deep breath before clicking.
Those 7 little words that make you take a deep breath before clicking.
Do not ever ever mandate a user be signed in to be able to send you any kind of support/contact request.
Unless of course you don't want to know your new user sign up flow is broken for some new users.
I'm looking at you Docusign.
Unless of course you don't want to know your new user sign up flow is broken for some new users.
I'm looking at you Docusign.
June 18, 2025 at 12:22 PM
Do not ever ever mandate a user be signed in to be able to send you any kind of support/contact request.
Unless of course you don't want to know your new user sign up flow is broken for some new users.
I'm looking at you Docusign.
Unless of course you don't want to know your new user sign up flow is broken for some new users.
I'm looking at you Docusign.
At some point I'll stop being hypnotised by the Apple vintage screen saver.
That time is not today.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=Oezf...
We need somebody to do something similar that just works with screenshots of other old operating systems.
OS/2, Windows 386, Solaris, QNX, BeOS... please!
That time is not today.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=Oezf...
We need somebody to do something similar that just works with screenshots of other old operating systems.
OS/2, Windows 386, Solaris, QNX, BeOS... please!
macOS 15 Sequoia Retro Macintosh Screen Saver 4K [30 min]
YouTube video by Yasin's Extra
www.youtube.com
June 17, 2025 at 3:27 PM
At some point I'll stop being hypnotised by the Apple vintage screen saver.
That time is not today.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=Oezf...
We need somebody to do something similar that just works with screenshots of other old operating systems.
OS/2, Windows 386, Solaris, QNX, BeOS... please!
That time is not today.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=Oezf...
We need somebody to do something similar that just works with screenshots of other old operating systems.
OS/2, Windows 386, Solaris, QNX, BeOS... please!
They say to try and find the good in any situation. So here I am with quite the cold and sore throat... narrating my life to the voice of Optimus Prime.
April 23, 2025 at 9:41 PM
They say to try and find the good in any situation. So here I am with quite the cold and sore throat... narrating my life to the voice of Optimus Prime.
So the TypeScript team rewrote the TypeScript compiler in Go.
Sure, that's their choice but let's be honest here.
Anyone wanting to write cross-platform command-line tools in C# is now going to face an uphill battle with "even Microsoft didn't use C# for theirs" used as a smack down.
Sure, that's their choice but let's be honest here.
Anyone wanting to write cross-platform command-line tools in C# is now going to face an uphill battle with "even Microsoft didn't use C# for theirs" used as a smack down.
March 12, 2025 at 5:03 PM
So the TypeScript team rewrote the TypeScript compiler in Go.
Sure, that's their choice but let's be honest here.
Anyone wanting to write cross-platform command-line tools in C# is now going to face an uphill battle with "even Microsoft didn't use C# for theirs" used as a smack down.
Sure, that's their choice but let's be honest here.
Anyone wanting to write cross-platform command-line tools in C# is now going to face an uphill battle with "even Microsoft didn't use C# for theirs" used as a smack down.