I’m a little late in publishing this installment of the X Years in Testing series. I’d written another version before Christmas, but I didn’t like it and it felt forced. I’ve never been one to write or talk about things that I don’t really want to, and so I decided not to publish it […]
Category: Reflections

Why I Got a Wonder Woman Tattoo
As I sat back in the black, plastic wrapped chair, I felt the needle pierce my arm. There’s something exciting and soothing about the sensation of a needle penetrating my skin, over and over. Its gentle buzz comforts me. “So, why Wonder Woman?” asked my artist, with equal parts curiosity and sweetness. […]

How to Manage Your Fucks (and Other Coping Mechanisms)
This post is a follow-up to my TestBash Manchester 2018 Open Space session on mental health and how people try to manage theirs. The Subtle Art of Not Giving a Fuck Like many others, I have ups and downs in my mental health. I had a particularly low “down” period a few […]

Verification as Code
I recently listened to a talk by Matt Long on Why We Should Test Programmable Infrastructure. You can watch a version of it on the MoT Dojo. During the talk, he used the phrase “infrastructure as code”, which you may have heard before. Wikipedia describes “infrastructure as code” as: “the process of managing […]

The Rabbit Poop Approach to Learning
I’ve been thinking a lot about learning, and have been trying to examine and understand more about the way that I learn. For me, there are three levels or stages of learning: Absorb (often through reading, watching, or listening) Experience (first hand exposure through active participation or passive observation) Teach (possibly through mentoring, speaking, […]