Hi! I'm Mark

I’m a Principal Software Engineer at ComplyAdvantage, where I tackle the challenges of building scalable and resilient distributed systems. With over 20 years of experience, I get excited about creating robust software solutions that make a difference. I thrive on coding, mentoring, and exploring the latest tech trends.

When I’m not working, you can find me exploring new interests (currently 3D Printing), spending time with my family, running, and poolside officiating at Swim England galas.

Feel free to connect with me (links above) to learn more!

Latest

Building a warble tone generator with the Web Audio API

My three-year-old had a hearing test coming up. At that age it is done as a sound field test: tones played through a speaker in the room rather than through headphones, with the audiologist watching for a response. Unfamiliar room, unfamiliar person, unfamiliar sound - we wanted to take at least one of those out of the equation before the day.

The key to a calm appointment was not explaining the test to a three-year-old; it was making the sound boring before we got there. So I built a small warble tone generator, now living at warble.allanson.org. In the week before the appointment my kid pressed the start button roughly a hundred times, dragged the sliders around, and turned the whole business into a familiar game instead of a mystery. Playing existing recordings was considered, but the button is the point: pressing start yourself makes it your sound, not something done to you.

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